Metis Children's Society holds first annual meeting

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The 1st annual Metis Children's Services Society (MCS) meeting was held on November 24 at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel in Edmonton.

Since establishing and incorporating the society in April 1985 through Metis Local 1885, a yearly budget of $198,000 has been spent on much needed programs, research and development for the organization and the Metis community in Edmonton.

Reports were submitted on the family support, foster care and youth support programs offered to the community by MCS. What was stressed in all these reports was the need for involvement by the Metis community at the local level. Youth support worker "TJ" Roy stated in his report that the society has "to encourage the involvement of the community in general. We have to take the responsibility for the concern of our Native and Metis youth."

MCS has done some research with their "limited reserves" and have made some headway in all areas of child care. However, they are under staffed and progress is slow. Brian Fayant, the foster care worker, says that attracting a staff equivalent to provincial government standards is difficult with their present funds. The society loses "good people" to other organizations that offer benefits, job security and better wages. This leads to a high turnover in staff, which slows the progress of the society.

One of the founders of the society, executive director Carolyn Pettifer, said, "we have negotiated and established working protocols with both the Fort Road District Office (of Alberta Social Services). In Fort Road, all Metis families coming into contact with the child welfare system and all their existing cases of Metis families are referred to our agency."

Of course, the society cannot possibly handle all the cases, so they must be selective and usually choose cases they fell will have a successful ending. For example, if they must choose between a child in permanent and temporary wardship, they will take the temporary ward because there is still a chance the child can be reunited with the natural parents.

"In the South West Edmonton District office (the foster recruitment unit), homes recruited through our organization are processed in conjunction with our worker," said Pettifer.

The new board of directors for MCS elected by the board o directors for "1885," are as follows: president Joey Hamelin; vice-president, Ralph Bouvette; treasurer, Richard Mirasty; secretary, Leonard Gauthier; Lucille McLeod, Judy Larson and "1885" represented Bill Haineault.

"It is going to mean a challenge...dedicaton...and...commitment to the Metis community," said new president Joey Hamelin. She says expansion, policy development, program development and negotiation meetings with Alberta Social Services will be the "top priorities" of the society.

Ironically, Hamelin was brought up by extended family members (her grandparents) and so was Brian Fayant and board member Richard Mirasty. Local 1885 President Stan Plante offered the observation that "they may not all be experts at MCS, but many of them have experienced the 'system' firsthand and can relate to those they help.

Jeannine Laboucane, the former president of the society, said "I will always be personally involved with MCS by virtue of being a Metis community person." She added that in the last year, the society has spent a majority of its time on organizational development, assembling a manual for the internal workings of the organizations and drafting bylaws "that would reflect the needs of the Metis community." The most significant changes in MCS bylaws is that the board of directors for MCS will be appointed by, and made accountable to, the board of directors for Metis Local 1885. Laboucane also said "we need to ensure that Metis control of Metis child welfare comes about, so we need to keep this community organization and its relationship with the community as an on-going process."

Family support consultant Ernestine Gibot received a standing ovation for her report frm the near capacity crowd that filled the Lacombe Room and included such notables as Dave Kelly (Regional) Director of Alberta Social Services, Dr. Herb Sohn (office of Community Health,) and Robin Ford (Assistant Deputy Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs Improvement Districts and Native Service Division), who were guest speakers at the banquet which followed the meeting.

Chairperson Ralph Bouvette said "she (Gibot) brings everybody back to reality." But reality was never more prominent than on June 24, 1984 when Metis foster child Richard Cardinal took his own life.

When the society is "deemed successful," they hope that their organization will be used as a "blueprint" for other Metis organizations to follow in the area of child welfare.

The last speaker for the evening was Charlie Cardinal, who introduced the privately made film on his brother's life called "Cry From a Diary" and went back to his seat quietly...and we all viewed the film together in silence.