Métis leaders propose solution to impasse

Some Métis Nation-Saskatchewan officials are hoping many of the estimated 46,000 people, who self-identified as Métis in the last census, will come to Saskatoon for a general assembly meeting to express their support for the resumption of the organization’s governance process, which has been on hold for five years, and pressure politicians – particularly president Robert Doucette and vice-president Gerald Morin – to stop the in-fighting. It is hoped that this meeting will lead to setting a date for a Métis Nation Legislative Assembly. The push to take action follows a ruling in early September by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Brian Scherman that MNS president Robert Doucette failed to prove that other members of the council, including Morin, ignored a court order to call a Métis Legislative Assembly. MNS local presidents Bryan Lee and Kelvin Roy, who are spearheading the September meeting, said they would also like to see the creation of a Métis court to adjudicate disputes. Lee estimated roughly $500,000 has been spent fighting about governance in various provincial courts. MNS has lost its federal funding, as its constitution states two legislative assembles are to be held annually.