Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) will have its members travel to Ottawa to attend a rally to oppose the passing of Bill C-53. The rally is being organized by the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and is scheduled to take place on Sept. 20 at Parliament Hill.

Bill C-53 affirms that all Métis communities represented by the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) have the right to self determination, including the right to self government under Section 35 of the Constitution.

Six Nations are supporting COO's argument that are questioning the legitimacy of the MNO's claims.

"MNO continues to build its case based on misrepresentations, outright falsehoods, and sweeping unsupportable statements," Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare says in a statement on the COO website.

"The historical ’communities’ that The Metis Nation of Ontario claims to represent have never factually existed," he continued.

The MNO made a statement through their website responding to "First Nation attacks on Ontario Métis" and "Métis denialism."

"In 2004, following our legal victory, the MNO and Chiefs of Ontario (COO) signed a protocol agreement to 'affirm mutual respect, recognition and support for the respective rights, interests and aspirations of First Nations and the Métis Nation within Ontario.' That same year, the MNO and COO jointly lobbied the government for Métis and First Nations rights. On that day, an Ontario MPP stated in the Legislature:

'Ontario Regional Chief Fox and [MNO President] Belcourt said that they expect the government to live up to its commitment to the constitutionally recognized aboriginal people in Ontario — the First Nations and the Metis Nation.'"

The MNO says Bill C-53 is about recognizing Métis citizenship, Métis elections, Métis governance operations, and Métis child and family services and says it does not deal with land, harvesting, or any land-related rights or impact the rights of First Nations in any way.

Coun. Nathan Wright spoke on the issue during the June 19 Political Liaison meeting and shared his opinion on the federal government combining all First Nations rights into a melting pot.

"I think what is dangerously happening here is the government, in particular the Liberal Government, is looking to meld all of our [First Nations] rights into one big melting pot, which would be detrimental to First Nations at the least," he said.

"When you look at it from a standpoint of the transformation that's happening in every sector, now think of it in terms of - let's include the Métis in there as well - In health that's going to be a big one, is that health transformation, will it now include the Métis Nations whether or not they're legitimate or not, education same thing, child welfare same thing, even when you look at the MNO piece of legislation that's been tabled. It'll likely include taxation in there, which is a right that we have that is now being for lack of a better term 'brown-washed' across the table."

SNEC approved the motion during the Aug. 14 Political Liaison meeting to have members of SNEC and community members travel to Ottawa to attend the Sept. 20 rally to oppose the passing of Bill C-53.

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