ottawa –
The chair of the Liberal Party’s Indigenous Parliamentary Caucus has said Indigenous identity is “complex” after questions were raised about the claims of two current Liberal MPs and one minister who has left the party. ”.
“This is a very complex question and there is no right answer,” said Jaime Batiste, a Mi’kmaq member of the Eskasoni First Nation.
“This is not biological or mathematical. This is a social construct, and that’s why there are challenges.”
Others say the issue is less complex, with Employment Minister Randy Boissonneau, who claims to be Cree, sits on the party’s Indigenous caucus and has long been touted as the party’s Indigenous MP. They want answers as to why they are changing their attitude now.
At a 2018 Canadian Heritage Commission meeting, he referred to himself as a “non-status adopted Cree from Alberta,” adding that his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.” This statement has been repeated on other occasions.
The National Post reported this week that Boissonneau’s co-owned company unsuccessfully bid on two federal contracts in 2020, calling itself “Indigenous” and “Indigenous-owned.” The government has committed to awarding 5 per cent of procurement contracts to indigenous-owned businesses. Since this article was published, Mr. Boissonneau has changed his identity and now claims that his adopted family has “Indigenous ancestry” and that his adoptive mother and brother are “Métis”. are.
“While I have participated in the Indigenous Caucus as an ally throughout my time as an MP, I have no position myself,” he wrote last week.
Batiste said Boissonneau is no longer a member of the Indigenous Caucus and has never identified himself as Indigenous.
Boissonneau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Randy Boissonneau, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, Monday, November 4, 2024. The chair of the Liberal Party’s Indigenous caucus says Indigenous identity is “complicated” following the disappearance of a former party member and current minister. Along with two current members, he was questioned about his claims to indigenous identity. Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Batiste characterized some of the conversations taking place in public as a “witch hunt,” adding that while some people may have been raised believing they are indigenous, further He said an investigation found they were not eligible to be members of the community.
When he was elected in 2015, the Liberal Party’s Indigenous Peoples Committee recognized Boissonneau as Indigenous, along with Labrador MP Yvonne Jones and Nickelbelt MP Marc Serres.
These MPs, who are members of the Indigenous Parliamentary Caucus, have also faced questions about their Aboriginal ancestry.
Sale was removed from Algonquin, Ontario’s register earlier this year as the group strengthened its membership list as it worked on its latest treaties with Canada and Ontario.
He said he no longer identifies as Algonquin, but as First Nations and Métis.
Scott McLeod, regional chief of the Anishinabek Nation, who has been a vocal critic of the government’s response to issues of Indigenous identity, spoke with Sale many times about his identity, saying that without lived experience and experience, people cannot identify as Indigenous people. He said he tried to explain why he could not claim a tribal identity. connections with the countries they claim.
“He kind of shrugged his shoulders,” McLeod said. “He is adamant about his claim to being indigenous.”
Mr. Jones is a member of the hotly contested Nunatukavut Regional Council, formerly known as the Labrador Métis Association, which represents about 6,000 self-proclaimed Inuit in the region, but is not from any federally recognized Inuit organization. is also not recognized.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents about 70,000 Inuit across Canada, claims the council is misrepresenting itself for material gain, while Nunatukavut is simply defending its members. claims.
Nunavut NDP MP Lori Idraut, who is Inuk, also expressed concern about Nunatukavut calling itself an Indigenous organization.
Jones claimed to be Inuit and advocated for Nunatukabut members to have their constitutional rights recognized.
“Politics is a numbers game,” Batiste said in response to a question about whether it was a problem for members with disputed cultural heritage to join the Free Indigenous Caucus.
“And the more people that are willing to stand up for what they believe in, the better.”
Mr McLeod disagrees.
“I think they’re (identifying as Indigenous) to advance their careers and get special appointments,” McLeod said.
“It’s a benefit to them, but not a benefit to us…We don’t need anyone pretending to speak for us.”
Hayden King, executive director of the Yellowhead Institute, an Indigenous-led think tank, echoed McLeod’s comments, saying it’s a cycle that trickles down from government to the public and vice versa.
“No one wants to hold people accountable for their claims, but it has become such a damaging phenomenon that we have to have some safeguards in place when it comes to access to power and resources. ” he said.
“That is simply not happening at this point, and we are seeing the cost of that outcome.”
Amid these debates over identity, the government is likely to lose its only Indigenous minister, with Métis Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal announcing in October that he would not seek re-election.
Batiste said the Cabinet needs to represent the country and just because Vandal won’t run again doesn’t mean Indigenous people shouldn’t have a seat at the table.
“I really value (Mr Vandal’s) time and I know it’s important to have at least one Indigenous minister in the Cabinet,” he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
