The Gabriel Dumont Institute

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The Gabriel Dumont Institute (GDI) has signed a $22.1 million Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreement (AHRDA) with the federal government that will see the institute take on responsibility for providing training and employment programs to rural, northern and urban Metis communities across the province.

That role had previously been held by Metis Employment and Training of Saskatchewan Inc.,(METSI) an arm of the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan,(MNS) but the federal government decided not to renew its AHRDA with METSI when the agreement ended in March 2006, citing the organization's history of financial irregularities.

Under the new agreement, signed on Jan. 10, the GDI, which also operates under the MNS umbrella, will establish a new training and employment arm to deliver human resources development programs to Metis people through 10 new regional offices.

The offices will be located in Ile a la Crosse, La Loche, La Ronge, Meadow Lake, Nipawin, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon and Yorkton.

"Metis control and responsibility for Metis human resources development are at the heart of this agreement," said GDI vice-chair Doyle Vermette.

"This agreement is a necessary measure for Metis people to address the economic and social disparities between ourselves and the mainstream population."