Who are the Métis? The Role of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Identifying a Métis Rights-Holder

• Main Author: Drake, Karen
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Osgoode Digital Commons 2021
• Subjects: Indigenous; Indian; and Aboriginal Law; Law; inuit
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/scholarly_works/2843; https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3843&context=scholarly_works

The rise of the duty to consult and accommodate has generated an increase in Indigenous-industry agreements. For proponents tasked with carrying out the procedural aspects of the duty, Indigenous-industry agreements offer relative certainty compared to the ambiguity involved in determining whether the duty has been legally satisfied. For Indigenous peoples, although the drawbacks of Indigenous-industry agreements are well documented, these agreements can potentially instantiate the principle of free, prior and informed consent. Compared to First Nation and Inuit peoples, though, Métis rights-holders are entering into comparatively fewer Indigenous-industry agreements.One cause of this phenomenon is the supposed uncertainty surrounding the question of who are the Métis, which can be divided into three sub-questions: (i) Who qualifies as a Métis rights-holder to whom the duty to consult and accommodate is owed? (ii) How do we determine the geographic scope of the Métis rights-holder? (iii) Who is entitled to represent the Métis rights-holder for the purposes of engaging in consultation about the right?