Métis must maintain national perspective, says MNC president

Victoria Pruden has only been in the role of president of the Métis National Council (MNC) for a few months but she knows the 40 year-old organization is in an unprecedented time. The last three and a half years have been filled with division and turmoil as that the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) and Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) have all withdrawn from the organization, leaving just the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and the Otipemisiwak Métis Government (OMG), formerly known as the Métis Nation of Alberta. Pruden says MNC has never faced a situation like this before. “However, those two governing members (MNO & OMG) still felt that it was really important to collaborate and to hold a space for a national perspective on Métis issues and that’s what we stay focused on, we’re holding that space,” says Pruden on the latest episode of Face to Face. “We’ll see what happens in the coming months and year, whether our membership will change. It’s a big mandate for me to look at a modernization and a revising and revisioning about the Métis National Council and its mandate but one thing hasn’t changed, its really important for us to maintain a national perspective.” Divisions within the Métis Nation were not healed this week by the release of a long-awaited expert panel report that “concluded that the seven communities represented by the MNO meet the national definition utilized by the MNC and adopted by Métis governments in Canada.” The MMF, MN-S, MNBC and Chiefs of Ontario roundly criticized the report and its findings. Read More: MNC report on Ontario Métis communities dismissed by three Métis governments, Chiefs of Ontario  The Otipemisiwak Métis Government later said it “neither supports nor endorses the document.” Just minutes after Pruden recorded the interview with Face to Face, the MNC said it “cannot approve or endorse the Panel’s final report, as the recommendations contained within the report are beyond the scope of the MNC’s mandate.” One of the Expert Panel’s recommendations is “that all provincial Métis governments participate in rebuilding a national organization that addresses the needs of the Métis Nation.” On Tuesday, MN-S and MNBC signed an “historic cooperation agreement.” The statement quoted MNBC President Walter Mineault as saying “the Métis National Council no longer speaks for us, nor does it represent our Citizens. Our two governments represent the interests of a large number Métis across the homeland. This agreement gives them a voice again nationally and we will work hard together to make sure that voice is heard.” When asked how she would respond to those who question the legitimacy of the MNC, Pruden says MNO and OMG still support MNC and still want to collaborate and MNC still has other agreements and mandates to fulfill. “I understand people’s concerns, of course. We’re in a position that we’ve never been in before in many ways across the Métis Nation, we have self-government agreements for the first time, we have historical Treaties being negotiated and one being signed, of course by the Manitoba Métis Federation in 2024,” says Pruden. Pruden says it’s also imperative to keep the momentum up on those agreements that stalled out near the end of Trudeau’s term in office. “There’s been a lot of work, a lot of investment of taxpayer’s dollars moving these forward, let’s keep that momentum going and let’s keep going forward,” says Pruden. Continue Reading