(Ottawa) The Federal Court has ruled on the increasingly controversial issue of “indigenous identity theft”, which has caused a crisis between communities in Labrador.
The NunatuKavut Community Council, formerly called the “Labrador Métis Nation,” represents some 6,000 people who identify as “Inuit” in southern and central Labrador. However, they are not considered Inuit by any other Inuit organization recognized as such by the federal government.
The memorandum of understanding describes the NunatuKavut Community Council as “an indigenous organization capable of holding ancestral rights under section 35” of the Constitution, which the Innu vigorously contest.
The “Innu Nation” organization, also established in Labrador, therefore asked the Federal Court to reject the memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 with the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. The Innu claimed that the NunatuKavut Council’s land claims overlapped with their own territory and that Ottawa had not consulted them.
However, in a decision published Wednesday, the Federal Court rejected their request for judicial review. The court concludes that the memorandum of understanding does not affect legal rights and does not recognize the NunatuKavut Community Council as an indigenous people of Canada within the meaning of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Section 35 provides that the existing rights – ancestral or treaty – of the “Aboriginal peoples of Canada” are recognized and confirmed by the Constitution, and that “Aboriginal peoples” means the Indians, Inuit and Métis of the Canada, in particular.
NunatuKavut Community Council chair Todd Russell welcomed the Federal Court’s decision. He said the “violent disinformation campaign” against his organization, which has lasted for almost five years, was coming to an end and that he now looked to the future with optimism.
“The court’s decision means that Canada and the (NunatuKavut Community Council) should be able to continue negotiations without interference from other Indigenous organizations or the court,” Russell said.
“We must chart a course in which we work collaboratively and cooperatively for the health and well-being of all our people in this country. »
“The Innu Nation is deeply frustrated at having had to waste time and resources to confirm this, but is extremely grateful for this legal clarification on the status” of NunatuKavut, the organization explained in a press release.
Similarly, the government of Inuit Nunatsiavut in northern Labrador does not recognize the council as an Inuit group, nor does the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami organization, which says it represents 70,000 Inuit from 51 communities in Canada.
Its president, Natan Obed, accused the NunatuKavut Community Council last year of usurping Inuit identity to obtain land, rights and financial resources. Mr Russell called the allegations “defamatory”.
