(Left to right) Bruce Stanton, Chair of the Parliamentary
Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Shelley Glover,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development, and Gary Lipinski, President
of the MNO, at the media event today in the MNO head
office in Ottawa.
Ottawa, Ontario (November 22, 2010) – Today, was a great day for the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) as MNO President Gary Lipinski, welcomed to the MNO head office in Ottawa, Shelly Glover, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Secretary Glover, who is a proud Métis woman from St. Boniface, Manitoba, the home of Louis Riel, spoke warmly about feeling she was among family at the MNO. “I usually don’t smile quite this much,” said Secretary Glover, “but when you are with family, that’s what happens!”
With CBC cameras present, and before an audience of MNO and HRSDC staff, the MNO and HRSDC formally announced the MNO’s new five-year 30.6 million agreement for employment and training programs through HRSDC’s Aboriginal Skills and Employment Strategy (ASETS) program. The MNO’s solid employment and training delivery foundation combined with an ongoing commitment to partnership and skills development culminated in MNO being the first ASETS agreement approved in Ontario.
President Lipinski thanked the HRSDC for investing in the MNO over the next five years stating: “Métis are a proud people who have contributed to the building of this province and Canada. This funding will have a lasting inter-generational impact. It will help our citizens develop skills sets and qualifications that will have ripple effects across the province because having a career will improve life in all other areas, which will then have positive impacts on families and communities.”
Parliamentary Secretary Glover, who was representing the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development (HRSDC), congratulated President Lipinski and the MNO for its record of success. “The MNO has grown under your leadership” she told President Lipinski, “and while you have faced many challenges, you and your team have overcome them.” Secretary Glover called on Métis to celebrate their success and not to rest, “until the Métis story is one success story after another from beginning to end.”
Bruce Stanton, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, also attended the media event. Commenting on the large Métis population in his own riding of Simcoe North, Chair Stanton said: “The Métis are very connected with the success in our region. Announcements like the one today demonstrate that we will continue to work together. I look forward to many new accomplishments in the months and years ahead.”
MNO Chair France Picotte, who has worked tirelessly for the advancement o Education and Training issues within the MNO, was unable to attend the media event and was missed by all participants. Her work has been critical to MNO’s ongoing success in the education and training field.
The ASETS agreement will allow the MNO to expand upon an established employment and training delivery structure and design new programs and services for Métis people in Ontario. As a result, many Métis will secure jobs over the duration of the project, and Aboriginal youth will get help to return to school or to find full-time work. “Métis people across Ontario,” concluded President Lipinski, “understand the significant benefits of this agreement to their families and communities and to all families and all communities in Canada. Long term investments like the one announced today benefit all of us.”
Government of Canada supports Aboriginal training and employment in Ontario (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada website)