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Manitoba Metis president rebukes AFN chief over call for withdrawal of treaty

  • Alessia Passafiume

  • Canadian Press

  • April 24, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, and Manitoba Metis Federation President David Chartrand speak together at the Louis Riel Commemoration Event in Winnipeg on Sunday Nov. 16, 2025 at the Saint Boniface Cathedral. THE CANADIAN PRESS/David Lipnowski

OTTAWA -- The president of the Manitoba Metis Federation is accusing the Assembly of First Nations of misleading people about legislation that would codify the federation's right to self-government.

MMF President David Chartrand is reacting to AFN criticism of Bill C-21, the first treaty of its kind between the federal government and Metis, which came up for debate in the House of Commons this week.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the legislation threatens to create a hierarchy of rights, with First Nations at the bottom.

She is calling for the bill to be withdrawn and says First Nations were not properly consulted.

Chartrand says that if "anybody would do a little bit of homework," they would see the legislation does not infringe upon anyone else's rights and is instead about their internal self-government matters.

He says that despite the criticism, he remains focused on working with the federal government to pass the bill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.