Michelle LeClair, vice-president of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, speaks on the Saskatchewan First Act at the Legislative Building on March 16, 2023 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By Lisa Schick

Métis, First Nation groups oppose Sask. First Act as it passes third reading

Mar 17, 2023 | 9:00 AM

The galleries at the Saskatchewan Legislature were full of people on their feet Thursday morning, standing to support the Official Opposition as it voted ‘no’ on Bill 88’s third reading.

The bill, also known as the Saskatchewan First Act, passed with support from the government side of the assembly and will become law in a few weeks with the signature of the lieutenant-governor.

First Nations and Métis leaders from across the province travelled to the Legislature to be there for the vote Thursday, frustrated over what they see as a lack of consultation on the bill and a concern over what the province “affirming” its exclusive jurisdiction over natural resources might mean for them and their treaty rights.

“This bill potentially could create such an impact on our rights — our hunting, our gathering, our ceremonies. All of those things will be greatly diminished (and) disrespected,” said Michelle LeClair, vice-president of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan.

LeClair said her government has had few if any attempts from the provincial government for a conversation about this.

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“And consultation, by the way, has to start early. It has to start before a bill is introduced,” she said.

The provincial government did not make any special effort to consult or have conversations specifically with First Nation or Métis leaders before the bill was introduced last fall, Premier Scott Moe at the time saying the government consulted with all kinds of people through town halls and autonomy meetings.

However, the leaders in the Legislature’s rotunda on Thursday morning pointed to the province’s specific duty to consult when something it’s doing could have an impact on First Nation and Métis peoples.

“This is frightening for us because the Province of Saskatchewan has a tendency not to consult with us (and) make it easy for proponents to come into our territory and to not consult with us,” said LeClair.

“Now if (the provincial government has) exclusive jurisdiction over land and resources, and they’re not consulting with us at all at this point, how can we expect that that’s going to get any better when they have exclusive jurisdiction?”

LeClair said she had written a letter to Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre saying this should be a nation-to-nation discussion, but said she never heard back from the minister.

Many of the First Nation and Métis leaders were in Regina on Wednesday evening for a meeting of the Intergovernmental Affairs and Justice committee where the Sask. First Act was discussed. The NDP tried to move for some of the leaders to come and testify in front of the committee, but that was voted down by Saskatchewan Party members.

The government did, however, add on an amendment with language that’s meant to clear the bill’s intent is not to infringe on treaty rights.

Betty Nippi-Albright, the NDP’s First Nations and Métis relations critic, said that language was pulled directly from her Bill 610, The Meaningful Duty to Consult Act. She talked about that language being added after the bill was created.

“They did not have enough respect to approach First Nation and Métis people, the treaty and inherent rights holders, before this bill was created,” Nippi-Albright said. “They did not have that respect.

“And now, because there’s been a public outcry, they threw in this clause to keep people quiet. (It’s) an afterthought, and First Nation and Métis people are done being an afterthought.”

Moe said the amendment was added to clarify it and ensure there’s no question of the intention of the bill.

“This bill is not in any way there to circumvent, to change or to modify the treaty rights that all Indigenous people most certainly have access to,” said Moe.

Moe said the concerns brought up by Indigenous leaders and communities are important and they speak to the conversations he said his government has since been having with leaders across the province.

“The conversation and the relationship, whether it be with First Nations leadership at the provincial level or the community level, or whether it be with the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan or community-level Métis leadership, needs to be an ongoing conversation,” explained Moe.

“This bill is not a division between that relationship and protecting treaty rights. This is a bill that is protecting our opportunity in this province from federal infringement, and that opportunity is for everyone.”

The premier said that, through these conversations, if there are some changes that need to be made to the bill going forward, his government is committed to talking about and looking at them.