Update on Planning for Special Assembly in June 2023
Update on Planning for Special Assembly in June 2023
The Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario (“PCMNO”) met on April 20, 2023, and approved a resolution related to the upcoming, to-be-called special General Assembly (“Special Assembly”). A copy of this resolution is available here.
This resolution provides further direction on certain action items identified in resolution PC220308-09 that was adopted by the PCMNO on March 8, 2023. More information on the March 8, 2023 PCMNO meeting is available here.
It is important to note that the Special Assembly has not yet been officially called by the PCMNO, but will be formally called at the end of April in accordance with the notice requirements in the MNO Bylaws.
The information in this update is being provided to ensure all MNO citizens have as much advanced information as possible related to meeting logistics before the formal notice call is issued so they can plan accordingly.
Background on Special Assembly
The PCMNO remains committed to following through on the direction from the MNO Registry Review process that was initiated in 2017, the 2022 MNO Annual General Assembly, and the recent province-wide Plebiscite results where 8,270 MNO citizens voted, and all MNO citizens (with “Complete” and “Incomplete” citizenship files) were provided an opportunity to vote. No MNO citizen filed a valid objection to the Plebiscite results under the MNO Registry Review Province-wide Plebiscite Vote Guidelines.
On March 8, 2023, the PCMNO passed resolution PC220308-09 confirming that a one-day, single-issue, Special Assembly would be held on:
Saturday, June 17, 2023 (9 AM – 4:30 PM EST)
Delta Airport Hotel (655 Dixon Rd)
Toronto, Ontario
The Special Assembly will be held for the sole purpose of voting on a special resolution to amend the MNO Bylaws and Registry Policy to allow for the removal of incomplete MNO citizenship files from the MNO Registry.
An agenda, special resolution, rules for the conduct of the Special Assembly, and official notice call are currently being developed. They will be circulated by the end of April and made available on the MNO’s dedicate Special Assembly webpage: www.metisnation.org/2023specialassembly.
PCMNO Meeting Update – April 20, 2023
To ensure the Special Assembly is conducted in an impartial manner, the PCMNO appointed:
- Eli Mina as the Independent Chair to oversee the general conduct of the Special Assembly meeting; and
- Paul DeVillers as the Chief Electoral Officer (“CEO”) to oversee the ballot box vote on the special resolution at the Special Assembly.
Additional information on the Independent Chair and CEO’s roles and responsibilities, as well as the general meeting rules to be followed by all MNO citizens attending the Special Assembly, will be included in the above-noted rules to be circulated later this week.
In addition, the PCMNO also directed the public release of this memo titled “Update on Planning for Special Assembly in June 2023,” which provides additional information related to Special Assembly attendance, voting, and travel and accommodation costs for MNO citizens. A copy of the memo is available here.
As further detailed in the memo, the PCMNO confirmed the following based on the MNO’s practices over the last 30 years, the requirements in the MNO Bylaws, and the significance of the Special Assembly:
- only citizens in physical attendance will be eligible to vote at the Special Assembly;
- MNO citizens interested in attending the Special Assembly are responsible for covering their own attendance costs (subject to the below);
- the MNO will cover travel, per diem, and accommodation costs for interested members of the MNO’s governance structures and institutions, as well as an additional 20 citizens per region as selected by each MNO Regional Councillor in consultation with the Community Councils in their region;
- the MNO will provide equitable financial transfers to each MNO Region to inform citizens about the Special Assembly as well as potentially identify additional ways for MNO citizens to attend the Special Assembly; and
- individuals attending the Special Assembly must complete an on-site COVID-19 rapid test (and have a negative result).
For more information, please see the memo. Questions related to the memo can be directed to MNO’s Events & Conference Specialist, Nina Newman at NinaN@metisnation.org or (343) 596-6433. General questions about the Special Assembly can be directed to specialassembly@metisnation.org. For more information related to the regional citizen attendees list, please contact your MNO Regional Councillor.
The MNO continues to encourage all MNO citizens with “Incomplete” citizenship files to contact the MNO Registry to “Complete” their citizenship file. The MNO Registry can be reached at info@mnoregistry.ca or by phone at 613-798-1006 (local) or 1-855-798-1006 (Toll Free).