MNO Chair France Picotte with Collège Boréal President
Daniel Giroux. CBC photograph.
On June 20 in Sudbury, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and Collège Boréal renewed their very successful Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was first implemented in 2009.
The renewed MOU will build on existing programs that respond effectively to the specific needs of the Métis people at Collège Boréal. MNO Chair France Picotte, who is also a member of the Collège Boréal Board of Governors stated: “The MOU’s main objective is to enhance the professional integration of the Métis, respecting their cultural specificity and improving their access to services, programs and employment services offered by Collège Boréal.”
In addition to Chair Picotte, the MNO was also represented at the signing by Region 5 Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario (PCMNO) Councilor Dan Boulard, MNO Sudbury Métis Council President Richard Sarrazin and MNO Sudbury Métis Council Senator Richard Meilleur who is also a Collège Boréal Métis Elder and who served as Master of Ceremonies for the event.
Collège Boréal President, Daniel Giroux said: “We are extremely pleased to continue our partnership with the Métis Nation of Ontario,” said Daniel Giroux, President of Collège Boréal. “Boréal is a family and we pride ourselves on providing personalized quality services. This Memorandum of Understanding helps us support our Métis students by providing culturally-appropriate supports of all kinds, and is just one of the things that helps us maintain our reputation as the best college in Ontario in terms of student satisfaction.”
The strategies implemented by the MOU include an evaluation and augmentation of the opportunities available to the Métis in an effort to increase their participation in postsecondary education initiatives. An equally important priority has representatives from the MNO participating actively in all phases of consultation and the development of Collège Boréal’s practices and policies with regard to Indigenous teaching.
Collège Boréal and the MNO also signed another MOU in 2016 with the purpose of setting up Detour Gold bursaries for Métis students at Collège Boréal.
“Collège Boréal has been an excellent partner for the MNO,” stated Chair Picotte, “and we are very excited to continue our positive working relationship with the Collège.”
Posted: June 26, 2017