Bill C-21 Red River Metis Treaty

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C-21 An Act to Give Effect to the Red River Métis Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty and to Make Consequential Amendments to Other Acts

Short Title: Red River Métis Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Treaty Act

Bill Type: House Government Bill

Bill Sponsor: Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations MP Rebecca Alty

What Is This Bill For?

This Bill gives the force of Canadian Law to a Self-Government Treaty signed with the Red River Métis — the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) — on November 30, 2024.

Until this Bill passes, the Treaty is just an Agreement on paper with no legal force.

⚠️Treaty Supersedes Federal Law:
Where the Treaty and any Federal Law conflict, the Treaty wins.

Once passed, it recognizes the Red River Métis as a Self-Governing Nation under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and gives their Laws legal standing in Canadian Courts. Where the Treaty and any Federal Law conflict, the Treaty wins — and once that hierarchy is established, future Parliaments cannot easily undo it without breaching constitutional obligations.

WHO GAINS POWER

  • The Manitoba Métis Federation gains recognized Self-Government authority — their Laws have legal force and courts must take judicial notice of them
  • The Treaty prevails over all Federal Law in the event of conflict — including future Acts of Parliament
  • The MMF gains authority to make administrative decisions reviewable only after all internal MMF appeal processes are exhausted
  • Governor in Council gains authority to make regulations to implement the Treaty — but must give the MMF meaningful input in that process

WHO LOSES POWER

  • ⚠️ Parliament — the Treaty supersedes Federal Law; future Parliaments cannot easily override it without breaching constitutional obligations
  • ⚠️ Canadians seeking to challenge MMF administrative decisions must exhaust all MMF internal processes before accessing Federal Court
  • ⚠️Federal Departments — Access to Information and Privacy Act protections now extend to MMF, limiting what information can be disclosed about MMF operations

WHO GAINS MONEY

  • ⚠️Fiscal Terms Outside the Bill— The Tax Treatment Agreement is part of the Treaty signed November 30, 2024 and is already legally effective. Its tax rules and fiscal framework are not reproduced in this Bill. Canadians must access the full Treaty document to understand the financial terms being given the force of Law.
  • ⚠️Future Funding Terms Undefined— This Bill establishes the MMF's standing to negotiate future funding and program delivery, but the amounts, terms and eligibility criteria are not in this Bill. Those details will be determined through future negotiations — without a Parliamentary vote on each one.

WHO LOSES MONEY

No direct spending is authorized in this Bill. Funding flows through the Tax Treatment Agreement — already signed and legally effective as part of the November 30, 2024 Treaty — and through future Appropriations, meaning Parliament votes on the dollar amounts through the federal budget process, but the terms governing how that money flows are set by the Treaty, not by this Bill.

THE CATCH

  • The Treaty prevails over all Federal Law — including Laws passed after this Bill — creating a constitutional hierarchy that limits future Parliamentary flexibility
  • Red River Métis Laws are not subject to the Statutory Instruments Act — meaning they don't go through standard Federal regulatory review or publication requirements
  • Actions taken by the MMF before the Treaty came into force are retroactively deemed valid — Parliament is ratifying decisions it never reviewed
  • A coordinating Amendment links this Bill to Bill C-10 (Commissioner for Modern Treaty Implementation Act) — if C-10 passes, the Red River Métis are automatically added to its schedule without a separate vote