Metis National Council president Clément Chartier

In this edition of Listen to This, associate editor Nick Taylor-Vaisey brings us the first in a three part series we’ll be running throughout this fall, talking with the leaders of Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples about the current political environment and their relationship with the government. With a new Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, John Duncan, taking over the portfolio over the summer, we thought it was time to look at where Canada’s aboriginal people stand, and the path forward from here.

Today, Nick talks with Clément Chartier, president of the Metis National Council, about the MNC’s relationship with the federal government, the legislative successes it has forged, what still needs to be done, and how the Metis nation’s interests coincide with First Nations and Inuit constitutencies.