The BC Métis Association says the Liberal candidate should resign

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OTTAWA – The BC Métis Association is calling on federal Liberal candidate Madison Fleischer to step down after raising questions about the Indigenous heritage she has publicly campaigned for for years.

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In an interview, Callum Robinson, vice-president of the Wacey Métis Society in Langley, British Columbia, said he first raised questions about Fleischer’s claims of Indigenous and Métis identity to both the candidate and the Liberal Party of Canada a week ago. The Wacey Métis Society is a registered community represented by the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC).

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He claims the questions were raised because Fleischer had contacted the association seeking support for the Métis candidate when she was officially nominated to represent the Liberals in the Cloverdale-Langley City by-election on November 10.

He says he met with Fleischer on November 23 to discuss her Métis heritage, but left the meeting disappointed because she was unable to provide any real evidence of Métis ancestry.

“She couldn’t provide me with any preliminary evidence” beyond saying her great-grandmother was from North Dakota, Robinson said. “She says she’s an expert in native protocol, so she should know things like that.”

“I think she should resign,” he added. “What is the pressure to keep this person in the lead role? It’s bad PR, for example, (the party) knew that last week when I raised my concerns.

In a statement, Fleischer said she is in the process of preparing an application for Métis citizenship, which will be submitted to the Métis Nation British Columbia.

“I identify as Métis based on what I know of my great-grandmother’s heritage,” Fleischer’s statement read.

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“I have always been vocal about the fact that I do not yet hold MNBC citizenship, so I have removed Métis from my social media bios to ensure there is no confusion in my identification.”

Over the years, Fleischer has repeatedly identified herself as “Indigenous” or “Métis” on social media, but most references to Indigenous heritage appear to have been recently removed from her online profiles, including those advertising her Liberal candidacy in the Dec. 16 presidential election. by-elections.

However, on Tuesday evening, the Wacey Métis Society released a statement questioning Fleischer’s Métis heritage.

“After meeting with her on November 23 to discuss these claims, we were disappointed that she could not provide any evidence to support her Métis heritage. At this meeting, Madison was unable to substantiate her claims with any documentation or historical connections to Métis communities.” – we read in the company’s statement.

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“The Waceya Métis Society wishes to distance itself from Madison’s claims of Métis identity. We ask that Madison take the necessary steps to appropriately research and verify its Indigenous heritage before making any further public statements,” he added.

Fleischer’s statement did not specify when she decided to remove any mention of Métis or Indigenous heritage from her social media pages, but archived versions of some pages indicate it was after she was announced as the Liberal candidate on November 10.

A previous version of her X profile, archived by Google, reads: “Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament Candidate for Cloverdale-Langley City. Advocate for indigenous people. Mestizo. Small business owner. Community leader.” The word “Métis” has since disappeared from the description.

An archived version of her LinkedIn page also shows that she has previously described herself as “Indigenous.” They have since been replaced by the letters “MGC”

October 16 press release issued by a community group the announcement that Fleischer had won a humanitarian award for a line of products raising funds for Ukraine described her as “Metis without status and of Ukrainian descent.”

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Archived version of her 2022 product line website“Slava Sweatshirts” identified her alternately as “Métis” and “of mixed European and Wahpeton Dakota descent.”

Last year, drew attention to her “mixed indigenous heritage” in a LinkedIn post celebrating receiving a “Top 25 under 25” award from the Surrey Board of Trade.

The website pointed to both of these distinctions in his Fleischer biography.

The Liberal Party has not yet responded to questions about whether it has a vetting process to verify a potential candidate’s claims of Indigenous ancestry.

Questions about Fleischer’s Native heritage come a week after Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault resigned from the government, in part over his changing statements about his Native heritage over the years.

“We encourage all who wish to identify as Métis to engage in authentic research and consultation. This will ensure that our voices are not diluted or distorted, especially at a time when Indigenous identities are under intense scrutiny,” the Wacey Métis Society said in a statement.

The Métis Nation of British Columbia said in a statement that it encourages people who identify as Métis to apply for citizenship, which requires going through a “rigorous process” in which they must provide “strong proof of ancestry and connection to the Métis Nation.” “

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“Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) strongly condemns anyone who makes false claims about Indigenous identity,” its CEO, Colette Trudeau, said in a statement.

“We know first-hand the harm these claims are causing to Indigenous communities across the country.”

The CEO says he welcomes people who have completed the application process. Like Métis countries in other provinces, it does not release the names of those on the registry or those who have submitted applications.

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