LETTER: 'Formerly Indigenous MP' owes Canada apology

Editor's note: The author writes in response to Northern MP 'kind of shrugged his shoulders' over Indigenous identity questions.

To the editor:

One of the major principles of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada is that the process of healing relationships requires “public truth sharing and apologies.” Reconciliation has been one of the Liberal government’s biggest priorities since being elected in 2015. Unfortunately for one formerly Indigenous MP, he is not interested in truths and apologies. 

Last week, it was discovered that Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault had misled Canadians for years about being Indigenous. Not only was he prominently featured in the Liberal Indigenous Caucus along with MP Marc Serré, but Boissonnault also admitted that a company he co-owned bid on federal contracts in 2020 while identifying as Aboriginal-owned. But a report from the National Post last week claims that Boissonnault lacks Indigenous status. Boissonnault has since apologized for having inaccurately identified himself and the chair of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus stated that Boissonnault was no longer a member. 

However, the government has never commented on another member of the Indigenous Caucus, MP Marc Serré. 

Serré, the Nickel Belt MP, proudly boasted of his Algonquin status repeatedly during his 2015 election campaign. In a June 2015 social media post, Serré attended an Algonquin celebration, claiming to be “proud of my heritage!” Once elected he was appointed to chair the Indigenous Caucus and is seemingly still part of the group today. Even running up to the 2019 election Serré frequently campaigned as an Indigenous candidate. In an August 2019 post, Serré claimed that he was a “proud member of the Algonquin First Nation.”

But then later that year, University of Ottawa professor Darryl Leroux called out Serré for misleading Canadians. In his book Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity, Leroux showed that Serré’s claim to Indigenous status was based on an ancestor who was born in the 1600s. When joining the Algonquin Nation, Serré claimed that Marie Mitewamewkwe was his great-grandmother and his root ancestor. But Leroux discovered that Mitewamewkwe is actually a 17th-century aboriginal woman who is an ancestor to pretty much every French Canadian in the country and certainly not Serré’s great-grandmother.

Eventually, the Algonquin First Nation revoked Serré’s membership due to his lack of Indigenous ancestry. 

But Serré has refused to apologize or even acknowledge the game he played for four years and two successful election campaigns. First, in 2019 he gaslit Leroux when he told Sudbury.com, “In response to the false and misleading allegations in a recent CBC article, I will firmly reiterate that I’m proud of my Indigenous heritage and I am a rightful member of the Mattawa/North Bay Algonquin First Nation community. I’m disappointed that anyone would create an environment that is counterproductive to the hard work that we have undertaken with our Indigenous partner.”

Then earlier this year when the media reported on his removal of the Algonquin, Serré clung to his claim saying he would henceforth start identifying as Métis instead of Algonquin. He told the CBC, “I don't need to be a member of an association to identify.”

He has since refused to answer if he is still officially part of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus. 

Serré was recently called out by one of the most prominent First Nation voices in his constituency. Anishinabek Nation regional chief Scott McLeod said he's spoken with Serré many times about his identity and has tried to explain why people can't claim Indigenous identities without lived experiences and connections to the nations they're claiming.

Last week, McLeod said, “I think they’re (identifying as Indigenous) to advance their careers and get these special appointments. It’s a benefit to them; it’s not a benefit to us … We don’t need 'pretendians' speaking on our behalf.”

If you ask any Indigenous leader in Canada, they will firmly tell you that there is a difference between being a First Nation member and being a Métis. These are distinct groups, and you cannot simply identify as one or the other based on political opportunities. 

Boissonnault’s timely apology is welcome news. Especially from a government supposedly dedicated to Truth and Reconciliation. Now Serré owes all of Canada the same apology. Even if it is five years overdue. 

Rejean Venne
West Nipissing