Ottawa, ON, Feb. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Métis National Council expresses its frustration and disappointment in being excluded from discussions on health transfers to provinces.
Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron shared the following message, “Discussions around, and solutions to, any crisis in this country must include the voices of Indigenous peoples. The Métis Nation should be at the table with the Prime Minister and Premiers in today’s discussions regarding this country’s healthcare crisis.”
With the enactment of Bill C-15, the Government of Canada must take all measures necessary to ensure that the laws of Canada are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Articles 21, 23, and 24 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples all reference the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determine their own health outcomes.
“The Government of Canada has an obligation to ensuring Indigenous people in this country are participants in decision-making in matters which would affect us,” explained President Caron, “We know that previous increases in federal health transfers have not led to better health outcomes for Métis citizens, especially those in rural and northern Métis communities. It is our Métis governments who know and understand the unique needs of our people and work tirelessly to care for the health and wellbeing of Métis citizens when Provincial healthcare systems continue to fail them.”
Out of the discussions at today’s First Ministers Meeting, the Métis National Council would like to see commitments from the Federal and Provincial governments regarding conditions to address health access and equitable service for the Métis Nation in ways that do not undermine Métis rights and self-determination.
