Adapted from a story by Julie Druker from the Frontenac News: http://www.frontenacnews.ca/addington-news/item/9108-high-land-waters-metis-council-meets-in-northbrook
The MNO High Land Waters Métis Council at a
nomination and information meeting in Northbrook on
January 31, 2015. (L-R) Back row: Tom Thompson Sr.,
Deidre Thompson, Gwendalyn Lloyd, and Robert Lloyd Sr.;
Front row: Terry Conners, Marlon Lloyd, Candace Lloyd
and MNO staff Hank Rowlinson.
The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) High Land Waters Métis Council (HLWMC) held a nomination and information meeting on January 31, 2015 at the Northbrook Lions Community Hall. The meeting was attended by 30 people. The meeting’s dual purpose was to attract new members and to nominate representatives for positions on the council.
The MNO HLWMC, which was established seven years ago, is one of the MNO’s 29 Métis community councils. Its members represent the area that stretches east to Perth, west to Peterborough, south to Kingston and north to Bancroft. MNO HLWMC members strive to bring Métis awareness to their communities and to let members know what services are available to them.
Present at the meeting were MNO staff Amanda Cox, Tracey Dale, and Hank Rowlinson. Rowlinson gave an overview of current issues facing the MNO at the provincial and national levels and stressed the importance of community involvement.
Deirdre Thompson, MNO HLWMC Acting President, said that she hopes to see membership numbers increase as a direct result of the recent meeting in Northbrook. She said that for a long time Métis people struggled with an identity that considered them “too white to be Aboriginal and too Aboriginal to be white. We are trying to let people know that we exist and that we have rights as Aboriginal people.” President Thompson said that the long-term goal of the MNO HLWMC is to spread awareness that the Métis are a distinct Aboriginal group.
The formal nominations for the MNO HLWMC for 2015 wrapped up Saturday’s meeting in Northbrook. Scott Lloyd and Catherine Thompson were nominated for President and Marlon Lloyd and Benjamin Saulnier were nominated for Chair. Secretary/Treasurer Candace Lloyd and Youth Representative Gwendalyn Lloyd were acclaimed. The Councillors nominated and elected by acclamation were Terry Conners, Tom Thompson Sr. and Gertrude Conners. The position for Women’s Representative is still open.
The MNO HLWMC elections will take place at the Northbrook Lions Community Hall on Sunday, March 8, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Voters must have their MNO citizenship card with them in order to cast a ballot. For more information, please visit the MNO community councils page.