| Métis Leaders Deplore
Legal Action by Former MNC President and MMF President
NEWS RELEASE
Saskatoon (September 12, 2007) --- The leaders
of four of the five governing members of the Métis
National Council (MNC) condemn the actions of
Past MNC President Clem Chartier and MMF President
David Chartrand to have the courts intervene in
the affairs of the MNC and to de-rail the holding
of the elections for MNC President which were
scheduled for October 12-13, 2007.
Defending the MNC in the court action are the
following four governing members: Métis
Nation British Columbia (MNBC) President, Bruce
Dumont; Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) President,
Audrey Poitras; Métis Nation – Saskatchewan
(MN-S) President, Robert Doucette; Métis
Nation of Ontario (MNO) President, Tony Belcourt.
Today, the Ontario Superior Court approved the
extension of an order requested by Mr. Chartier
and Mr. Chartrand as follows:
- There shall be no MNC Annual
General Assembly until further order by the
court;
- There shall be no meetings of
the Board of Governors or business conducted
by the Board of Governors until further order
by the court;
- The Chief Administrative Officer,
Dale LeClair, shall run the day-to-day operations
of the MNC “only as the need arises”.
Both Mr. Chartier and Mr. Chartrand have abandoned
the MNC’s own bylaws, and have instead asked
the court system to intervene in the affairs of
the MNC by indefinitely postponing the MNC Presidential
elections scheduled for this October. The order
was granted to examine witnesses and hold hearings
on a further order requested by Mr. Chartier and
Mr. Chartrand that would have the court identify
who will be the delegates to the MNC Assembly.“The
elections for MNC President are nearly one year
overdue. The Board of Governors maintains
that the Office of the MNC President was vacant.
I am astonished that the former MNC President
and MMF President would take this action to further
delay the MNC elections and cause this uncertainty
to continue. In accordance with the MNC By-laws
I was appointed as the Interim President in July
by the majority of the MNC Board of Governors
to ensure that we maintain our position of self
governance to address this vacancy”, MNBC
President Bruce Dumont said.
“It is a fundamental principle that the
MNC must never interfere in the affairs of its
governing members and here we have the Past President
and the MMF President asking a court to do that
very thing - by asking the court to determine
who would be the MNA’s delegates to the
MNC Assembly. This has always been the sole
right of each Province to decide”, Métis
Nation of Alberta (MNA) President Audrey Poitras
said. “ I am appalled that rather than following
our by-laws, Mr. Chartier and Mr. Chartrand are
in effect asking the courts to intervene and to,
de-facto, amend our by-laws”, Ms.
Poitras added. “The right of our people
to run their own affairs and to choose their own
leaders has never been a question in Saskatchewan.
To see a Past National President of the MNC going
to the courts to have them take over our decision
making process just sickens me”, said MN-S
President Robert Doucette. “I want
it to be clear that we are the ones who must defend
the Métis National Council against this
attack on our rights as a Nation and as a people”,
Mr. Doucette concluded.
“It is extremely ironic to me that the
Métis National Council has fought long
and hard for nearly two decades to have our inherent
right of self-determination and our right of self-government
adopted as a ‘minimum standard’ of
our human rights by the United Nations and on
the eve of the historic vote to adopt the UN Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, our past
president has asked a court to determine our rights
and to identify who can cast a ballot in our national
election. I am shocked and completely dismayed
by this contradictory and irresponsible action”,
said MNO President Tony Belcourt.
The four leaders are also surprised and deeply
upset at the apparent lack of concern or responsibility
over the costs of the actions that are being taken
by Mr. Chartier and Mr. Chartrand. It is
estimated that the court costs could escalate
to over $100,000 for the MNC alone. Without
their actions, elections for President according
to the Métis Nation’s own laws, would
take place in one month, by a decision of the
Métis people, not under the control of
the courts.
For further information contact:
Bruce Dumont –MNBC….…604-219-0157
Audrey Poitras – MNA ….…780-490-8188
Robert Doucette – MN-S…...306-343-8285
Tony Belcourt– MNO………613-791-5056
Katelin Peltier
Acting Manager of Communications
Metis Nation of Ontario
500 Old St. Patrick St., Unit D
Ottawa, ON K1N 9G4
T: 613.798.1488
TF1.800.263.4889
F: 613.722.4225 |
