OTTAWA -- Today, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) released the final report from its community consultations on developing an Ontario Métis Consultation Framework. A copy of the report is available here.

In January 2008, the MNO announced province-wide community consultations, jointly supported by the Ontario Government and the Government of Canada, on developing an Ontario Métis Consultation Framework. The proposed Consultation Framework will increase Métis engagement, input and participation in planning and development related to Ontario's natural resources, consistent with the Crown's constitutional duty to consult rights-bearing Métis communities on activities that have the potential to impact Métis rights, interests and way of life. The final report is based on over 17 community consultation meetings held throughout southern, central and northern Ontario, along with input received from Métis citizens via the MNO's website dedicated to the consultations at www.metisnation.org/consultations.

MNO President Gary Lipinski said, "These consultations provided an important initial opportunity for our people to discuss how governments and industry should be working with Métis communities. Based on the impressive turnout for these consultations, the message was clear: Métis communities want to be involved and have a say in natural resources development in this province that has the potential to affect Métis rights and our traditional territories."

The final report includes over 60 recommendations on a wide array of topics, including, principles for an Ontario Métis Consultation Framework; education, training and communication initiatives on the duty to consult; Métis representation issues; capacity and funding issues; Métis research, mapping and data collection; and, creating partnerships with industry in the forestry, energy and mining sectors.

The report will be used to inform ongoing bilateral and trilateral discussions with the Ontario Government and the Government of Canada on developing an Ontario Métis Consultation Framework as well as the MNO's collaborative work with the Ontario Government on its recent announcements relating to the protection of the Boreal region, revenue resource sharing with First Nation and Métis communities, reforming and modernizing Ontario's Mining Act and the development and implementation of the New Relationship Fund based on the recommendation in the Ipperwash Inquiry Report.

"This report provides an important foundation upon which the Métis Nation can build, but it is clear that Métis citizens and communities want to continue to be actively engaged as we move forward on this important rights-based initiative. The MNO is optimistic that this report will represent a starting point for a collaborative journey, with both levels of government, in order ensure to Métis rights, interests and way of life in this province are respected and protected for generations to come," added Lipinski.

The Métis are a distinct Aboriginal people with a unique culture, language and heritage, with an ancestral Homeland that centres around Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and extends into the Northwest Territories and the northwestern United States. The Métis played an instrumental role in the shaping of Canada, and work tirelessly to share their culture, traditions and knowledge of the environment with their fellow Canadians. Today, the Métis live, work, raise their families and pay taxes in communities all across Canada.

Chelsey Quirk
MNO Communications Branch
T: 613.798.1488
TF: 800.263.4889
chelseyq@metisnation.org