CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The Native Council of P.E.I. plans a rally at Province House in Charlottetown at 12 noon Thursday, March 12.
The rally is in response to news that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and provincial first ministers are meeting in Ottawa this week with national Indigenous Organizations chosen by government.
NCPEI says these meetings exclude Métis, Inuit and non-status Indigenous people living off-reserve.
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) national Chief, Robert Bertrand, said government cannot pick and choose which Indigenous people they consult.
“The only legitimate process is one which involves all Indigenous people,” says Bertrand.
Today, more than 80 per cent of Indigenous people live off-reserve. The CAP-Daniels Supreme Court decision affirmed that Métis and non-status Indigenous people are Indians under the Constitution Act of Canada, and that their interests are a matter of federal responsibility.
The Native Council of P.E.I. is the self-governing authority for Indigenous peoples residing off-reserve across ancestral Mi’kmaq territory on Epekwitk (P.E.I.). The council represents the rights, needs and interests of the status and non-status Mi’kmaq, Métis, and Inuit peoples off-reserve on P.E.I. along with other nations.
