New government agreement

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Committee to review Metis programs

The signing of a framework agreement signals "the dawn of a new era of co-operative effort," said Metis Association president Larry Desmeules.

The agreement between the association and the provincial government was the described by Ken Rostad, solicitor general and minister for Native programs as "a move towards self-sufficiency in a constructive and realistic manner for Metis."

The province's six Metis vice-presidents also signed the document which will set in motion a joint committee made up of association representatives and government officials, including chairman Dr. Barry Mellon, the deputy minister of the Executive Council.

The new committee will be authorized to make recommendations to the minister on policies and programs.

Desmeules said the agreement was a move toward self-determination and "the beginning stages of defining what self-government is." In effect, he said the new committee structure will ensure Metis will have direct input into the handling of their own affairs.

"We've always been the recipient of administration programs, but now we're going to be the actual ones administering them," he added.

Programs and services that fall under the agreement include education; career development; employment; economic development; forestry, lands and wildlife; as well as the involvement in local government, explained Rostad.

However, Desmeules pointed out that there are many challenges ahead as "ten years ago we had our people unemployed and uneducated; now we go them educated and still unemployed," he said.

Another problem Desmeules observes is the vicious cycle of poverty. "We've become big business to the non-Native community . . . our poverty and our misery . . . and we have to stop it," he said, adding he felt one way of accomplishing this goal is through establishing similar agreements.