Tony Belcourt to run for Métis
National Council President
OTTAWA (February 4, 2008) --- Tony Belcourt,
President of the Métis Nation of Ontario, has
announced that he will be a candidate for President
of the Métis National Council. The election for
President will take place at the MNC General Assembly
on February 23-24, 2008 at the Delta Ottawa Hotel in
Ottawa.
“We need to come together as a Nation.
Today, across the Métis Nation, we share collective
concerns: our health care and care for our seniors,
education, unemployment, housing, the environment, justice
for the victims of the residential school era, justice
for our veterans and the recognition of our Constitutional
rights, including the rights to land and respect of
our right to hunt and fish for food everywhere throughout
the Métis homeland,” Mr. Belcourt said.
“It is critical that we unite, that we bring these
shared issues to the doorstep of Parliament, that together
we take our rightful place at the negotiation table
with the Federal Government.”
“My experience over four decades
of involvement in the Métis Nation and in Aboriginal
issues generally gives us the opportunity to set a new,
united direction for the Métis National Council
in dealing with the Government of Canada, the Premiers,
business leaders and other Aboriginal leaders,”
Mr. Belcourt said. “We are a proud people, rich
in our culture, tradition and values; a people of great
accomplishment with a vibrant youthful population offering
great promise for the future. I want to work towards
the development of a strong national voice that will
inspire our people to bring their talents and knowledge
to the Métis cause and to build upon our values
of self-determination and self-sufficiency.
“Collectively we have an incredible
depth of human resources within our Nation, in particular
among Métis women and our elders whose knowledge
and unique perspectives are so often overlooked. Our
people are more educated now than we ever have been
in our past and our population is growing exponentially.
So our potential at this point in our history is great,
but the challenges facing the Métis Nation remain.
We have clear-cutting within our traditional territories
right up to our front doors. We have levels of poverty
and unemployment within our communities that far surpass
the mainstream. Our language is in real danger of disappearing.
We need to bind together for the common good of our
people and our communities. That is the challenge facing
the Métis Nation and I have every confidence
that with the right focus we can meet that challenge
and achieve the aspirations that our people have sought
for generations.”
Tony Belcourt, who was born in Lac Ste.
Anne, Alberta, has served in many capacities within
the Métis Nation throughout his career, including
as Vice-President of the Métis Nation of Alberta
and founding President of the Native Council of Canada.
In 1993 he was instrumental in founding the Métis
Nation of Ontario and has served as its President since
then. He has led the Métis hunt for justice that
resulted in the landmark decision by the Supreme Court
of Canada in R v. Powley in 2003 which ruled
that the Métis right to hunt and fish for food
was an existing Constitutional right. He has served
as the Métis National Council’s representative
at the international level for many years and participated
in the negotiations that led to the recent adoption
of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. He has served on many boards including the
Governing Council of Trent University's Ph.D. program
in Native Studies. In 2006 he received a National Aboriginal
Achievement Award for Public Service. One of his proudest
accomplishments is the “Nation-to-Nation”
relationship that has been established between the Métis
Nation of Ontario and the Anishinabek Nation.
For further information, see these websites:
www.metisnation.org/tonybelcourt.html or www.metisnation.org
Ph: Tony Belcourt at 1-613-798-1488 ext
108 or 1-888-690-0823
Katelin Peltier 613-859-7130 - Cell
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