Overview
The Lands, Resources and Consultations (LRC) Branch is coordinating program development to understand and respond to climate change and its effects on Métis communities across the province. Through ongoing engagement with MNO communities, this work focuses on the local knowledge held by our communities to ensure the voices of Métis help guide the development of MNO environment and climate change policy and programs.
Information Sheets
Read about observed trends across all nine Métis Nation of Ontario Regions at the link here!
In September 2023, the MNO’s Environment and Climate Change team launched three online surveys for MNO citizens. Read more here!
MNO citizens helped monitor the presence of native bees, track native plant cycles, and seasonal weather patters as they related to climate change. Read about the findings at the link here!
MNO citizens helped monitor the presence of native bees, track native plant cycles, and seasonal weather patters as they related to climate change. Read about the findings at the link here!
Current Activities
Solar Panel Project
Coming Soon
The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Solar Panel Program can provide MNO citizens who meet program eligibility, with a one-time grant of up to $25,000.00 for the installation of rooftop solar panels on their home. The purpose of this program is to help Métis Citizen homeowners reduce their carbon footprint and electricity bills.
Eligibility requirements will be made available once the application is open.
To be placed on the program waitlist and receive an email notification when the application is open, please email: solarpanels@metisnation.org.
Specific inquiries/ questions will be responded to once the application is open.
Fish Monitoring Project
The MNO is launching a series of fish monitoring surveys to hear from Métis fishers about their experiences. The survey results will inform fisheries management strategies and target monitoring activities that may be used in consultations to help protect MNO harvesters’ abilities to exercise their Section 35 rights. The surveys will also help track the presence of invasive Carp species.
There are three reporting surveys available to complete:
- Fishing Trip Report: https://arcg.is/eXzf8
- Fish Measurements and Health Report: https://arcg.is/1b0ST5
- Palatability Report: https://arcg.is/1fHezy1
The three surveys will be accessible via the MNO’s website and will be available year-round.
We appreciate any and all information Métis fishers are willing to share about their experiences in order to better understand the health of Ontario waterways and the fish that live in them. At the end of each year, the MNO Environment and Climate Change Team will hold a prize draw for each survey. Entries received in each survey category will be eligible to win a $250 Cabela’s gift card. Draws will take place annually each September and prizes will be sent out that month.
MNO Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program
The Environment and Climate Change team of the LRC Branch supports the MNO’s Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program. The Program monitors the effects of climate change and pollution on important waterbodies and their aquatic ecosystems across the MNO. Since 2021, more than 150 Métis citizens have been trained in various water monitoring techniques, which are referred to as the four streams of the Program. These include: water chemistry, fish, benthic invertebrate, and eDNA monitoring. Métis Guardians sample waterbodies under Spring, Summer, and Fall conditions annually. Currently, 115 sites across all 9 Regions of the MNO are monitored for the Program.
Water Chemistry
Guardians monitor certain sites for basic water quality parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, temperature and turbidity using a multimeter probe. Water samples are also collected and sent for laboratory analysis to test for nutrients, metals, and contaminants including methylmercury.
Fish
Guardians collect baitfish 1-2 times per year and send the samples for laboratory analysis of methylmercury (MeHg). MeHg is a form of mercury that can travel through the food chain and bioaccumulate in fish tissue and subsequently in humans that consume them. Climate change has the potential to affect MeHg levels in aquatic environments, so it is important to track any fluctuations over time.
Our fish monitoring stream of the Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program also includes the series of surveys open to MNO citizens to report on their fishing experiences.
Benthic Invertebrates
Aquatic animals living in the bottom of water bodies can also provide a good indicator of water quality. This method of water monitoring is established as the Ontario Benthic Biomonitoring Network (OBBN). Guardians who have been trained in this methodology collect and identify bottom dwelling organisms of freshwater systems as indicators of water quality and watershed health, as well as for insight on fish and aquatic species habitat for food availability.
eDNA
The MNO is collaborating with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to sample key water bodies for environmental DNA (eDNA) to test for the presence of grass carp. eDNA of fish includes genetic material left behind in the water such as urine, blood, or scales. Guardians filter water through a specialized piece of equipment that captures any remnant DNA in a filter that is then analyzed by DFO’s lab. This invasive fish, already established on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes, could devastate our native fish ecosystems and this work on early detection of the species presence is a crucial step in preserving our current fishing habitat.
For more information on the Program and to join our waitlist for future training workshops for MNO citizens, please email: watermonitor@metisnation.org
The MNO has received funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations, Northern Affairs Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada to support the development of a Métis Guardians environmental monitoring program.
Métis-Focused Ecological Footprint Calculator
Do you know the impact your lifestyle has on the environment in your community? This calculator helps provide an estimate of your ecological footprint and explore sustainable solutions you can use to minimize your eco impact.
Community Council Funding for Conservation Initiatives
The LRC team has secured funding for 2022 to support MNO Community Councils in Region 1-9 for initiatives that incorporate sofgardé la tèr (land conservation) and restoration. Councils have the opportunity to undertake land-based activities in their local communities such as garbage cleanups, planting trees or traditional medicines, rain gardens, bee hotels, butterfly gardens, or invasive plant species removal and replacement with native plant species. The LRC team hopes to secure funding for this initiative again in the future.
Youth Engagement
The MNO values the need for youth participation and engagement in our programming as the future stewards of no tèr pi noz o (our lands and waters), within our traditional territories. We have had various youth participating in our Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program. This program provides youth with training and experience in environmental monitoring, which can support post-secondary studies. Youth educational and engagement opportunities have been built into a host of other events such as the MNO AGA. Additionally, during the development of our Métis-specific carbon footprint calculator, youth have been interviewed to help us gain perspectives on climate change and action.
Métis-Based Land Conservation
The LRC Branch is currently investigating possibilities for direct land-based conservation. This may include direct landownership or partnerships with conservation organizations. Maintaining or returning land to its natural state will help to combat climate change, maintain biodiversity and protect species important to the Metis way of life.