Participants in the Regional Protocol re-signing at the AGA: (back,
left to right) Natalie Durocher (President of the MNO Timmins Council),
Urgil Courville (President of the Northern Lights Métis Council),
Marcel Lafrance (PCMNO Region 3 Councilor) and Liliane Ethier
(President of the Temiskaming Métis Council) (front, left to right)
David Hamilton (President of the Chapleau Métis Council), Gary
Lipinski (MNO President) and France Picotte (MNO Chair)
Amid all the work going on at the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Annual General Assembly (AGA), the Presidents from Region Three found the time to re-sign their protocol agreement in order to welcome the Chapleau Métis Council into the agreement. Regional Consultation Protocols help ensure Métis in the region are effectively engaged and consulted. The Chapleau Council had not signed the original agreement but is now a full member of the Protocol. The protocol agreement applies to the traditional Métis territories of James Bay and Abitibi/Temiskamingue.
MNO President Gary Lipinski, MNO Chair France Picotte joined local community council presidents, David Hamilton (Chapleau), Natalie Durocher (MNO Timmins), Urgil Courville (Northern Lights) and Liliane Ethier (Temiskaming) at the signing ceremony over the lunch hour at the AGA in Parry Sound. The agreement formalized the traditional working relationship that exists among the Métis in the region.
“The signing of this Protocol is an important part of the MNO’s Consultation Framework, which was developed based on province-wide consultations on the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate back in 2008,” said President Lipinski. “It demonstrates the commitment of Ontario Métis to work together to ensure all citizens have input when projects related to land use planning, energy, mining and forestry on Métis traditional lands are proposed,” he added.
The Métis are a distinct Aboriginal people with a unique culture, language and heritage who played an instrumental role in shaping Canada, and who work tirelessly with their fellow Canadians to share their culture, traditions and knowledge of the environment.