ONTARIO MÉTIS RECEIVE FUNDING FROM ONTARIO GOVERNMENT TO BUILD CAPACITY FOR CROWN CONSULTATION

NEW RELATIONSHIP FUND ANNOUCEMENT BUILDS ON MNO-ONTARIO FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

OTTAWA - August 19, 2009 --- The Ontario Government announced today it will provide $2.6 million to the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) this fiscal year to support the Métis Nation’s consultation framework and to enable Métis communities to more effectively participate in consultation and accommodation processes with the Crown and industry in Ontario.

The funding announcement delivers on the McGuinty Government’s commitment to create a New Relationship Fund, flowing from Justice Linden’s recommendations in the Ipperwash Inquiry Report. The Fund’s objective is to enable First Nations and Métis communities to build core capacity for effective participation in activities relating to consultation and accommodation processes with the Crown and industry throughout the province.

“This announcement is indeed welcome news for Ontario Métis,” MNO President Gary Lipinski said. “It delivers on one of the key recommendations of the Ipperwash Inquiry Report as well as the Ontario Government’s commitments in the MNO-Ontario Framework Agreement, which was signed in November 2008.”

President Lipinski added, “Equally important, the funding supports the MNO’s unique consultation framework, which was developed and designed by the Métis people themselves after extensive consultations. This framework respects the democratic governance structures created by Ontario Métis at the local, regional and provincial levels, while also ensuring Métis Citizens are provided the opportunity to be engaged and consulted through a fair, inclusive and predictable process.”

The MNO’s unique consultation framework includes Regional Consultation Protocols supported by the MNO’s Land, Resources and Consultation Branch to ensure regional rights-bearing Métis communities have access the necessary technical and environmental expertise required for meaningful consultation and accommodation.

President Lipinski concluded, “On behalf of the Métis Nation, I want to thank Minister Duguid and the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs for working in partnership with us to ensure the New Relationship Fund meets the Métis Nation’s distinct needs in this province. This announcement represents yet another positive outcome from the MNO-Ontario Framework Agreement process and will benefit Métis children, families and communities in this province.”

For more information on the MNO and its unique consultation framework visit: www.metisnation.org/consultations.

The Métis are a distinct Aboriginal people with a unique culture, language and heritage, with an ancestral homeland that extends across Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and into the Northwest Territories and the northwestern United States. The Métis played an instrumental role in the shaping of Canada, and work tirelessly to share their culture, traditions and knowledge of the environment with their fellow Canadians. Today, the Métis live, work, raise their families and pay taxes in communities from Ontario westward.

For further information please contact:

Joanne Meyer
MNO Intergovernmental Relations
(416) 977-9881, ext. 101
(416) 528-6152 (cell)