MEMORANDUM
To: MNO Citizens, Community Councils, PCMNO
From: Hank Rowlinson, MNO Chair
Date: June 20, 2024
Subject: 2024 Annual General Assembly—Deadline for Special Business Resolutions
Background on Special Business Resolutions
The 2010 MNO Annual General Assembly (“AGA”) passed a resolution (AGA-RES10-02) that all future resolutions brought to MNO AGAs, which propose changes to the MNO’s governance structures, policies, or bylaws, must be provided to MNO citizens for review thirty (30) days prior to the beginning of the AGA. The intent of this resolution was to provide all MNO citizens with the opportunity to review, consider, and investigate important resolutions prior to an AGA.
In order to implement this resolution, MNO Policy #2011-002 (the “Policy”) was adopted. This Policy sets out a formal process through which all MNO citizens can submit “special business resolutions” to be considered by MNO AGAs. A copy of this Policy is available for download on the MNO’s website here. If you would like to receive a hard copy or a PDF version of this Policy, please contact the MNO’s Head Office at 1-800-263-4889 or email CommOps@metisnation.org.
It should be noted that “special business resolutions” are only those resolutions that propose to change the MNO’s foundational principles, by-laws, or policies that have been previously adopted by the General Assembly. All MNO citizens attending AGAs can still bring forward other non-special business resolutions to the AGA (i.e., policy directions for the MNO, statements of support for specific initiatives, etc.) without having to comply with the thirty (30) day notice requirement.
Deadline for Special Business Resolutions
This memo is formal notice to all MNO citizens wanting to put forward special business resolutions at the 2024 MNO AGA that they must submit these resolutions to the MNO on or before Friday, July 12, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. EST. It is important to also note that in order for any “special business resolution” to be considered by the 2024 MNO AGA, they must comply with the Policy. Please review the Policy prior to submitting a resolution.
Submission of Special Business Resolutions
All special business resolutions must be emailed, faxed, mailed, or couriered to the location below and received by the above-noted deadline. No late submissions will be posted or considered by the upcoming MNO AGA. Please send special business resolutions to:
Métis Nation of Ontario
Attention: MNO Chair
66 Slater Street, Suite 1100
Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5H1
Fax: 613-722-4225
Email: resolutions@metisnation.org
As noted in the Policy, submitted “special business resolutions” must include the name, MNO citizenship number, and signature of the proposed mover and seconder. The MNO does not require original signatures; however, the information provided by fax or a PDF scan must be legible so the MNO can verify that it has been submitted by an MNO citizen. A “special business resolution” may be submitted by multiple movers and seconders in order to ensure that an eligible mover and seconder are present when the resolution is put to the AGA.
Posting of Special Business Resolutions
All special business resolutions received on or prior to the July 12th, 2024, deadline will be posted to the MNO website for review and circulated to the PCMNO and Community Councils on or before July 17th, 2024 (i.e., in order to comply with the Policy’s 30 days’ notice requirement). For ease of reference, the following sets out the relevant dates for this process:
| June 20, 2024 | Formal Call for Special Business Resolutions Issued |
| July 12, 2024 | Deadline for Receipt of Special Business Resolutions |
| July 17, 2024 | Posting and Circulation of Special Business Resolutions |
| August 16, 2024 | Start of 2024 MNO Annual General Assembly Business Meetings |
Support for MNO Citizens in Drafting Special Business Resolutions
At the 2022 MNO AGA, MNO citizens requested that the MNO provide assistance to answer questions about how to best draft special business resolutions and some assistance in drafting potential special business resolutions. For technical questions related to the Policy or assistance with respect to how to draft a special business resolution, please contact: Jennifer Pauze at jenniferpa@metisnation.org or 705-790-5601.
Please note that while MNO staff are available to answer questions and provide assistance related to the Policy and potentially assist in drafting special business resolutions, the MNO and MNO staff are not providing advice (political or otherwise) or responsible in any way for a special business resolution meeting all requirements. It remains the sole responsibility of mover(s) and seconder(s) to prepare/submit their special business resolution(s) and ensure all Policy requirements are satisfied.