A high-ranking federal official says Ottawa has not verified the legitimacy of disputed M茅tis communities in Ontario that have been at the centre of heated debate over a government bill.

Martin Reiher, a senior assistant deputy minister in the Crown-Indigenous Relations Department, said Thursday that Bill C-53 only recognizes the provincial M茅tis organizations that represent communities in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The government isn鈥檛 required to dig into the legitimacy of specific communities themselves, he said.

鈥淭he government of Canada has not played a role in that regard.鈥�

Reiher made the comments at a parliamentary committee where Indigenous leaders have been hotly debating legislation that would recognize M茅tis self-governance in the three provinces.

The Chiefs of Ontario and other First Nations groups have argued that six new communities within the M茅tis Nation of Ontario, which the provincial government recognized in 2017, have no historical basis to exist.

NDP MP Lori Idlout asked Reiher why he thinks there have been 鈥渟o many concerns raised鈥� about the membership of the Ontario group and whether it had enough checks and balances in place.

He replied saying the organization has worked hard on a membership registry, and noted that it removed some 6,000 members with incomplete profiles in June. He added it has an 鈥渙bligation鈥� to provide verifiable information.

Idlout said in an interview on Friday that she wasn鈥檛 satisfied by the official鈥檚 answers.

鈥淭hey aren鈥檛 doing their homework to make sure that they are hearing from the right people,鈥� she said.

鈥淎nd I can understand why First Nations in Ontario would be greatly concerned about what鈥檚 going on.鈥�

Idlout wouldn鈥檛 say whether her caucus plans to vote in favour of the bill. She said they鈥檙e working on amendments that would help alleviate the concerns of some of those who testified.

Another NDP member of Parliament, Charlie Angus, raised concerns on social media Thursday evening.

He said Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who had testified at the committee earlier that day, should 鈥渟tep out of his office鈥� and come to the territories of Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Anishinabek Nation.

鈥淗e needs to explain how this bill will actually work on the ground,鈥� Angus said.

Anandasangaree said during his testimony that M茅tis have had to listen to people who are trying to 鈥渄eny their existence,鈥� and he believes the concerns that have been raised are based on misconceptions.

In a statement on Friday, M茅tis Nation of Ontario president Margaret Froh said those making 鈥渇alse statements鈥� that deny the existence of Ontario M茅tis are misrepresenting what Bill C-53 says, and are harming the mental well-being of M茅tis.

She added there is a 鈥渇undamental disconnect鈥� between what some are saying about the M茅tis Nation of Ontario and Bill C-53 in 鈥渟ound bites that are simply not credible鈥� when history and law are considered.

Froh pointed to the 2003 Supreme Court of Canada Powley decision that recognized a M茅tis community in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

That case did not consider the six other M茅tis communities Ontario and the M茅tis Nation of Ontario recognized in 2017, but defined a set of criteria for what may constitute a M茅tis right and who could be entitled to those rights.

鈥淚t is simply wrong to suggest that Canada has not verified the credibility of the (M茅tis Nation of Ontario鈥檚) registry and that it is a legitimate M茅tis government. The testimony of Canada鈥檚 representatives at the (committee) is being mischaracterized and again misconstrues what Bill C-53 says and does,鈥� she said.

鈥淥ur communities are deeply hurt by the falsehoods that are being perpetuated by some and the notion that finally recognizing the M茅tis people and our rights takes away from the rights of anyone else. We strongly disagree that reconciliation is a zero-sum game.鈥�

Froh did not directly address concerns raised by Idlout and First Nations leadership around how Ottawa did not vet specific communities.

Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod, a member of the Chiefs of Ontario and a vocal critic of Bill C-53, said the Crown-Indigenous Relations official鈥檚 comments are yet another example of the federal government not doing its due diligence.

And while the legislation itself may not specify which communities are under the M茅tis Nation of Ontario鈥檚 jurisdiction, it鈥檚 essentially giving recognition to them, McLeod said in an interview Friday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 ludicrous that this is being legislated out of thin air,鈥� he said, adding that passing the bill would be a slippery slope that could harm First Nations rights.

The Assembly of First Nations, which represents 630 First Nations across Canada, is calling for the bill to be withdrawn altogether.

Other M茅tis organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia have raised their own concerns.

But the president of the M茅tis National Council, Cassidy Caron, told MPs last week that she supports the bill.

And the leaders of M茅tis organizations that are directly affected by it have said the legislation would unlock opportunities and foster a new relationship with Ottawa.

They have emphasized that the recognition of their self-governance rights would do nothing to harm other Indigenous groups.

Amid concerns that the bill could open the door to allowing land or harvesting rights for M茅tis, Anandasangaree stressed on Thursday that that鈥檚 not what the legislation does, though future treaties could be negotiated.

Idlout said she wants that in writing, as the current wording in the bill leaves uncertainties.

鈥淚f the intent is that there will not be land or resource rights being infringed, then clearly state that,鈥� she said.

She added that she believes the Liberals鈥� handling of the legislation has deepened the divides it is exposing.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what they did right, because all I鈥檝e been hearing is what they鈥檝e done wrong,鈥� Idlout said.

鈥淭hat does not alleviate the concerns of First Nations, and it doesn鈥檛 alleviate the concerns of other M茅tis 鈥� Everyone (who testified) has given us a lot to think about.鈥�

M茅tis Nation of Ontario president Froh said her community looks forward to seeing the bill pass.

鈥淪o we can get on with building a better future for our citizens, communities and Canada as a whole.鈥�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2023.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press