people. On July 20, 2018, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and Canada signed the Framework Agreement for Advancing Reconciliation, which established the mechanism by which the negotiations on the shared objectives would be conducted. As negotiations have progressed between Canada and the Métis Nation, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, along with Métis Nation of Ontario and Métis Nation of Alberta, signed the Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement with Canada on June 27, 2019. The Métis Act In 2002, the Government of Saskatchewan passed The Métis Act. The Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan establishes the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan as a self-governing entity, and distinguishes the difference between the political existence as a Métis government from the existence as a non-profit corporation that provides programs and services. The Métis Act is the first legislation in Canada to recognize the political aspirations of the Métis. It established a bilateral process that empowers the elected leadership of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan to negotiate as an equal partner with the Government of Saskatchewan on matters of interest to the Métis. This is an unprecedented de facto recognition in Canada of Métis aspirations of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan as a governance institution, though it stops short of recognizing the Nation—Saskatchewan as a government. Métis Nation—Saskatchewan governance structure Traditional Métis governance practices of participatory governance and community councils are the basis for the governance structures and practices of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. Locals Locals are the basic unit of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, and they operate at the community level. Each local has an elected leadership that may include executive, board of directors, and other structures that a local establishes for their own governance that are consistent with the Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. Locals may also incorporate with the appropriate government. Locals have the responsibility of preparing communities for self-government, and they may seek the necessary finances and resources for their programs, services, and other objectives that they have established. To be an active local, a local must have a minimum of nine members, and they must hold local leadership elections every one to three years. A Métis citizen can belong to only one local at a time, and they must ordinarily reside in the area of the local for a minimum of six months before they are allowed to join a local (exceptions can be made for educational or medical purposes, or where there a local does not exist in a community). Locals were originally modelled