Click here to read: How Can it be? The
Powleys not included in the Metis Nation
Click here to watch an interview with
MNO President Margaret Froh.
As has been previously reported, on Wednesday, November 28, 2018, during the Métis National Council (MNC) General Assembly, the MNC released a report entitled “Addressing the Integrity of the Historic Métis Homeland.” Click here to view the report. The report included recommendations that were the basis for resolutions passed at MNC Assembly including one that put the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) on “probation.” The vote on this resolution was 29 in favour and 24 opposed.
Click here to view a video of a portion of President Froh’s address to the MNC General Assembly.
In her response to the report, MNO President Margaret Froh pointed out the following:
- The MNO was not consulted in the preparation of this report. No inquiries were made to the MNO during the preparation of this report.
- Despite its length and the serious and immediate action it recommends, the MNO was only provided with the report the day before the Assembly.
- There are several errors and misstatements that could have been clarified, had the MNC spoken with the MNO at any point in preparation of the report. President Froh specifically addressed the following:
- The MNO as a Métis government has been advancing a rights based agenda for the last quarter of a century.
- The MNO has been built on a foundation of Métis as a distinct people with a distinct culture, history, language, territory and way of life.
- This priority and these principles are embedded in the MNO Statement of Prime Purpose, which sets out its commitment to advance the Métis Nation, Métis rights and “to continue our affiliation with the Métis National Council for the representation of the interests of the Métis Nation in Ontario at the National and International levels;”
- MNO has for the last 25 years worked with Metis Nation governments across the homeland to advance our collective goals and priorities and to fight for the rights and recognition of the Métis Nation and of Section 35 Métis rights.
- A significant portion of the report was about R v. Powley; yet failed to provide the substantive evidence provided in this historic case.
- President Froh stated: “And let’s be clear on what was stated in the Powley decision – the term ‘Métis’ in section 35 does not encompass all individuals with mixed Indian and European heritage; rather, it refers to distinctive peoples who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, way of life, and recognizable group identity separate from their Indian or Inuit and European forebears. Métis communities evolved and flourished prior to the entrenchment of European control, when the influence of European settlers and political institutions became preeminent.”
- President Froh went on to detail that the MNO has made many advances on its mandate of Metis rights over the last 25 years and this work continues to be the priority
Further reports and updates on these issues will be made in the coming days. Any questions can be addressed to:
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Joanne Meyer |
Jennifer St. Germain |