OTTAWA---The Hon. Michael Bryant, Ontario Minister of Aboriginal Affairs met today with MNO Executive and senior management at MNO’s head office in Ottawa. It was the first time since its formation nearly 15 years ago that a Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs has visited the Head Office of the Métis Nation of Ontario. After touring the MNO Registry, the Minister said he was “amazed” that we have so much documentation and evidence of Métis ancestry in our records. Following a lengthy meeting that included a briefing of MNO operations, there was a discussion on MNO’s top priority of entering into a Framework Agreement with the Province of Ontario. An agreement that would, through the Ontario Legislature, give official recognition to the Métis Nation of Ontario and which would pave the way for a “government to government” relationship in the future. Such an agreement would significantly alter the ability of the MNO to obtain adequate funding in all areas including Métis governance at the provincial and community council levels but would also enable it to move into other areas of critical importance such as Métis child and family services. Although it will take some time to negotiate the full terms of a Framework Agreement, the Minister did agree to consider some immediate funding issues and to meet with the MNO again later this month. The Minister made commitments that although it may have taken this long for a Minister of Aboriginal Affairs to meet at MNO Headquarters, his visit signals the change that has come about and the desire of his government to establish proper recognition and a proper relationship with the Métis Nation of Ontario.

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