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Metis Nation of Ontario Deplores
Events Leading to Failure to Elect a National
President and Return to the Courts
MNO NEWS RELEASE
OTTAWA (October 16, 2007) --- The Métis
National Council’s (MNC) General Assembly
ended on Sunday, October 14, 2007 without electing
a National President and the fate of the MNC now
referred back to the courts. Métis Nation
of Ontario (MNO) President, Tony Belcourt called
the situation deplorable and avoidable.
“The Executive of the Métis Nation
of Ontario worked tirelessly to ensure that we
could hold a fair and democratic election for
President of the Métis National Council
at our Assembly last weekend”, Mr. Belcourt
said. “We were on the verge of finally being
able to hold a vote to determine the final list
of voting delegates, but our meeting was ended
so that this decision would be referred back to
the courts. We were shocked and dismayed at this
decision because if we had taken a critical vote
on the motion on the floor at the time, we would
have fulfilled our responsibilities to name a
National President and we would be in the position
of being able to get on with business. We are
concerned at the very future of the Métis
National Council itself.”
The court ordered on September 17, 2007, that
the MNC hold a General Assembly in Ottawa to elect
a President. The Court ordered that: no person
act as President until the elections, to be held
Oct. 13th and 14th; that there be no meetings
of the Board of Governors; and that MNC Chief
Administrative Officer, Dale LeClair, run the
day-to-day operations of the MNC until the holding
of the election. The Court further ordered that
Mr. LeClair would act as Chair of the General
Assembly until the election of a President. The
order is in effect until the person elected as
President takes office.
Following a day and a half of debate over an
issue concerning voting delegates, the Chair declared
the meeting adjourned and that he was referring
the question of delegate status to the Courts.
On Saturday, October 13, 2007, the President of
the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), David
Chartrand, tabled a motion to remove and replace
the names of an entire delegation of a Governing
Member of the MNC. This is the first time in MNC
history that a Governing members’ voting
credentials have been challenged. The question
of who could vote on this motion became a hotly
contested issue.
The Chair initially ruled at the close of business
on Saturday (October 13, 2007) that none of the
Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) delegates
named in the motion, could vote on the motion.
Métis Nation of Ontario President, Tony
Belcourt, challenged the decision on the basis
that it violated the court order that specified
that Alberta, as a founding member of the MNC
would have 15 voting delegates and that it violated
the MNC By-Laws which state “At all meetings
of members, each member shall be represented by
the President”. The Chair closed the meeting
shortly thereafter without a decision on his challenge
taking place. The Chair asked for written opinions
on his ruling and stated that he would reflect
on the day’s events and announce his position
when the meeting resumed on the next morning
At the resumption of business Sunday (October
14, 2007), the Chair reversed his earlier decision
and declared that seven of the 15 MNA delegates
named at roll call could vote on the MMF motion
because the MMF motion both sought to remove and
then replace these very same seven people. The
ruling was because the credentials of those seven
delegates were not an issue. Mr. Chartrand immediately
objected to this ruling and sought an adjournment
so that he could caucus with his delegates and
seek legal advice. Following the return to the
meeting, further discussion took place and members
of all delegations except those of Manitoba loudly
called for question on the MMF motion. Rather
than putting the motion to a vote the Chair then
announced that he was referring the matter back
to the Court.
Without the presence of the court-appointed Chair,
the meeting ended in complete disarray. The delegations
from the MNA, the Métis Nation British
Columbia (MNBC) and the Métis Nation of
Ontario (MNO) remained in the Assembly room for
further discussion. They were then re-joined by
the President of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan
(MNS) and other members of the MNS delegation
for the closing discussion. The representatives
of these four of the five governing members of
the MNC then spoke of their commitment to work
cooperatively on matters of mutual national concern
in spite of the apparent impasse within the Métis
National Council.
“We are very concerned that the future
of the Métis National Council is now uncertain,”
said Belcourt. “It is not clear at this
time how the courts will deal with this matter.
The Board of Governors, by Court Order, cannot
meet. We are very concerned with the future livelihood
of the staff and the financial commitments the
MNC has made to its creditors. The MNO remains
committed to the Métis National Council
and its future well-being. We deeply regret, however,
that circumstances are such that for the time
being, we are powerless to act.”
CONTACT:
Chelsey
Quirk, Communications Assistant
Work: 613-798-1488 Ext. 104
Cell: 613-299-6085
Email: chelseyq@metisnation.org
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