Two Métis Nation–Saskatchewan cabinet ministers say the state of emergency declared this week on addictions, gangs, and violence is rooted not just in politics but in their own lived experiences.
The resolution, passed by the Provincial Métis Council this week, empowers MN-S to seek urgent support from provincial and federal governments to establish land-based treatment centres and expand community-led programs.
Justice Minister Brennan Merasty, who introduced the resolution, spoke openly about his past during an interview with the Daily Herald.
“For me, as a person with lived experience of 25 years struggling with addiction, I’ve witnessed firsthand the ever-increasing crisis of drugs, alcohol, gangs, and violence in our communities across the homeland,” Merasty said. “More recently, three and a half years or more, I’ve been alcohol and drug free… So being in the position I am, I feel it’s the right time to influence some change in conversation because of that lived experience and what I see in society and where we’re going.”
Merasty argued that mainstream recovery programs fail Indigenous people, pointing instead to culture and ceremony as the foundation for lasting healing.
“Institutional concepts, to me, are those of a social detox where you come in for seven days; it’s almost like a jail cell. In a 30-day treatment program, you barely get in the right headspace to even consider staying sober,” he said. “Through ceremony, cultural connection with traditional elders, and conversations, I was able to be nurtured to grow and do things differently, and cope with healthy, positive choices.”
Merasty said language and culture are vital in helping people recover.
“Language gives us a true connection to everything around us. It generates a purpose, and everything in our language has purpose and meaning,” he added.
Merasty said the crisis is visible across the province.
“You’re seeing more homelessness. What is it related to? You’re seeing a lot of violence. What is it related to? You’re seeing dropout rates, lack of employment, and social issues. The root cause, in my experience, is drugs, alcohol, gangs, and violence.”
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Beverly Fullerton echoed those themes, grounding them in her own story.
Fullerton described addictions as a province-wide epidemic, pointing to the rapid rise of fentanyl and meth use in the past decade and the failures of existing systems to keep pace.
“We both have lived experience. We’ve lived through the trenches. We’ve dealt with addiction, we’re on a healing journey, and we acknowledge that you’re never healed. Healing is an everyday process.” she said. “I also have lived experience of being an incarcerated Indigenous woman at one time in my life as well.”
Fullerton said the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in prison highlights the need for a different approach.
“When you look at the overrepresentation of our Indigenous people in prison, the lack of cultural programming within the institutions, the lack of elders coming in, the denial of family visits… we have reintegration programs, but they’re not meeting the needs of our citizens.”
Both ministers stressed the urgency of building land-based healing lodges. Fullerton pointed to Batoche as a natural place for the first facility, while emphasizing it would not be located on the historic site itself.
“When we talk about land-based healing, a lot of our people are connected to Batoche. That is where the battles have happened. That’s where the resistance… our blood is there. “Our history is there,” she said. “It will be around Batoche, not on the site itself.”
She ended with a direct message to families in crisis.
“My message to individuals and families that are currently dealing with violence, gangs, alcoholism, and drugs: you are worthy, and you are not forgotten, and you are loved, and we want you to come home.”
MN-S leaders say the emergency declaration is intended to push provincial and federal governments to act, while centering Métis culture, language, and history in solutions.
“Right away, we know that the province can’t do it alone. The federal government can’t do it alone. The Métis Nation–Saskatchewan government can’t do it alone,” Merasty said. “We need to come together. We need to spark the conversation, and we need to think outside the box.”
