Skip to main content

Know OUR History - Part 3

Know OUR History – Part 3

Hunting season is upon us. The Metis fought long and hard to get the recognition of their right to hunt and fish for food. It took a long 10 year battle in the courts with the Ontario Government in a case called R v. Powley. We were victorious at the Supreme Court of Canada in 2003 and today, 15 years later we are grateful to Steve Powley and his family for their sacrifice and commitment to having our rights recognized. The plans to get to that point were cemented at the Metis Nation of Ontario's Founding Delegates Assembly in Toronto in May 1994. Attached is a link to the discussion we had at that historic gathering.

Tony Belcourt
September 22, 2018

https://soundcloud.com/tony-belcourt/metis-harvesting-rights-part-1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MNO PROPOSED SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS # 1, #2 AND #3 SHOULD BE DEFEATED By Tony Belcourt, Founding President, Métis Nation of Ontario The MNO has put forward to the 2018 AGA, three “Proposed Special Resolutions” regarding    MNO Citizenship (Proposed Special Resolution #1, Proposed Special Resolution #2, Proposed Special Resolution #3).    They should be defeated because they introduce a concept that is not present in the MNO Bylaws or its Registry Policy or Guidelines.    In fact, they are contrary to them and if passed may very well be a violation of them. Proposed Special Resolution #1 is titled:  Special Resolution on Verifying All MNO Citizens Are  Métis Rights-Holders and Meet Current MNO Citizenship Requirements (emphasis added) Proposed Special Resolution #1 is based on the  Registry and Self-Government Readiness Process passed by the PCMNO at its meeting on October 20-22, 2017.    That motion states: ...
4 comments
Read more

Know OUR History

Know OUR History - Part 1 By Tony Belcourt In its report to the 2018 Annual General Assembly, the MNO reported that according to the research done so far, almost 40% of MNO citizens lacked the  documents it says are now needed in the MNO Registry. The MNO reports that it has 18,000 citizens in the Registry. Does the MNO intend to remove up to 7,200 of those citizens? The MNO has a process underway to remove elected members of its Councils if they don't have documentation it says it needs (even though all of them have previously been verified in order to run in the first place). Does it intend to remove up to 100 of its 286 elected members of the Councils (PCMNO; Community Councils; Youth; Veterans)? What the current leadership of the MNO is doing is cold-hearted.  It is turning its back on the people who made the MNO possible in the beginning.  Except for a very small number on the PCMNO, none were around in the days when building the...
2 comments
Read more

Federal Recognition Of Métis Self-Government Is A Big Deal

Federal Recognition Of Métis Self-Government Is A Big Deal Commentary by Tony Belcourt At last, Métis will be out of the clutches of governments.  Without recognition of our right of self-government, we have been forced to operate our collectives as “not-for-profit” corporations or associations.  The bottom line is that the leaders of those organizations are legally bound by the provincial corporations acts and their allegiance is therefore bound to the corporation – not to the people.  They are sworn to uphold the interests of the corporation and when lawyers tell them they are bound to secrecy, they obey. Nobody can mistake my intense dislike for “incorporating” under provincial laws.  When we started the Métis Nation of Ontario, we decided we would operate as a Métis governing body outside of those laws.  But, regrettably, we were forced to incorporate a secretariat for the purpose of doing business because we would otherw...
Post a Comment
Read more