The Breakdown - Week In Review - May 22, 2022

On our weekly live episode, we go through our top 5 Alberta politics stories of the last week! The ever changing state of Alberta’s premier, the ongoing legal case against the provinces removal of health protections in schools, the Alberta Parents Union, the ongoing health care crisis and more! Of note… During the last segment of the show, Nate incorrectly identified two murder victims as First Nations and instead should have identified them as Métis. In order to recognize the nuance and differences, we wanted to share the feedback we received compliments of twitter user @sunnshiiny. “Those men gunned down were Métis. Not First Nations. And they were exercising their right to hunt out of season because of their Métis status. A point of contention for white hunters who cannot do the same. Métis have only had treaty rights since 2016. So there is a reason white hunters have negative attitudes towards Métis. First Nations have always had treaty rights. Exercising those rights since treaties were signed. Métis have not had this right and other hunters want it withdrawn. They believe it creates a two tiered society. Métis have not had funding from the federal government, and Métis off of Settlements (about 80% of Métis people) have never received government benefits like FN. The reason those men were out there is because Métis losing jobs at the beginning of the pandemic meant food shortages. Providing meat was an assurance against starvation. Their murder was particularly egregious because the victims’ family lost two hunters, not just one. Might I request you clarify the differences between FN & Métis treaty status. It’s an issue that has been overlooked, ignored and suppressed. Which annoys the hell out of me. I’m Métis, not FN. while aspects of my culture are similar to FN, it is a distinct culture. Métis have been ignored for decades. Cons, greens & NDP ignore Métis treaty rights. The petition for acknowledgement of Métis people as an indigenous people distinct from FN took more than two decades & several court appearances. We’ve been ignored since confederation, even after a provisional Métis govt that negotiated the entry of Manitoba into Canada. Métis were pushed west until there was no further west to go (BC already existed). English and French Métis are most prevalent in Alberta and Saskatchewan for this reason. Many white hunters believe Métis don’t deserve treaty rights. They believe the Métis should assimilate. Métis have suffered all the same discrimination as FN without & federal or provincial support. Same with non status FN. They’ve only had treaty status since 2016 as well. Métis and non status make up roughly half of the indigenous population. The first official accords with federal government recognizing their treaty status were signed in 2017. That’s 5 years ago. When those men were killed was 3 years after the federal government recognized their treaty status. There were 12 settlements originally. Now there are only 8. The 1885 rebellion started in Alberta. And changed the acceptance of indigenous people in society for the past 150 years. Métis were a large part of that rebellion. Each community has its own unique culture.” We apologize unreservedly for the error. As always, if you appreciate the kind of content that we’re trying to produce here at The Breakdown, please consider signing up as a monthly supporter at our patreon site at www.patreon.com/thebreakdownab, and if you’re listening to the audio version of our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a rating and don’t forget to like and follow us on facebook, twitter and instagram all at @thebreakdownab.