Métis Nation of Ontario claims vindication while critics dismiss long-awaited report on communities

Brett Forester · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is claiming vindication after a much-anticipated study affirmed the beingness of 7 Métis communities successful the province. Opponents, however, are dismissing the reappraisal arsenic "bogus," with a predetermined outcome.

Since 2021, a sheet of 4 Métis experts has been investigating whether "new historical communities" recognized successful 2017 genuinely beryllium to the Métis Nation. MNO leaders accidental the effect was thing but preordained.

"A trial was acceptable up by some, astir apt hoping we would fail, and we passed the test," said Mitch Case, determination councillor for the Huron-Superior Regional Métis Community.

The Métis National Council (MNC) appointed the sheet earlier its Saskatchewan and British Columbia members left, pursuing Manitoba's lead, leaving MNC with conscionable Alberta and Ontario.

The sheet included Marilyn Poitras, Larry Chartrand, Shelly (Niemi) Wilton and Dylan AT Miner, appointed retired of Saskatchewan, Alberta, B.C. and Ontario respectively.

After reviewing 50,000 pages of insubstantial and visiting the communities, the sheet concluded the communities meet MNC's nationalist explanation for Métis citizenship.

"Thus, it is our adept sentiment that these communities are integral to the Métis Nation and its Homeland," they write.

The Métis Nation–Saskatchewan and the Métis Nation B.C. rejected the findings, and truthful did the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), calling the probe a phony workout afloat of ludicrous assertions.

"It was predetermined close from the get-go," said Will Goodon, MMF curate of individuality extortion and inter-Indigenous relations.

"We were perfectly correct, astatine the extremity of the day, that the MNO is pulling the strings of this sheet … It's truly irrelevant. But astatine the aforesaid time, it's a bittersweet show of the MNO trying to enactment relevant."

The Chiefs of Ontario (COO), an umbrella enactment for First Nations successful the province, besides denounced the study arsenic misinformation.

"This proves nothing," said Shelly Moore-Frappier, main of Temagami First Nation in northeastern Ontario.

"This is inactive a study that is reliant connected the assemblage communicative and documents that truly bash not beryllium nationhood."

'Lateral violence'

Later successful the report, the sheet says the attacks from different Métis leaders, immoderate academics and Ontario chiefs "are forms of lateral unit and could beryllium considered a signifier of hatred code and, possibly, taste genocide."

The sheet cites a remark made by Scott McLeod, past main of Nipissing First Nation, astatine a acme connected individuality fraud past year. 

He was reflecting connected going to schools and presenting astir Indigenous identity, telling the summit, "It's precise hard to archer a young person, who has been lied to from birth, that you are not who you deliberation you are."

The study says, "This benignant of attack to addressing children resonates with the taste genocide recovered successful the residential schoolhouse acquisition — telling children their parents are heathens, and that they request to beryllium educated."

McLeod, who is present Anishinabek Nation main for the Lake Huron region, defended his comment, calling the reappraisal "bogus" and "a whitewash."

"We're simply telling the truth, but they're trying to gaslight us, saying we're being laterally convulsive and telling the kids these atrocious things," helium said.

"The audacity — that they would effort and link that to what happened successful residential schools — is beyond comprehension. It's violative and it's despicable, rather honestly."

MNO President Margaret Froh called McLeod's remark astatine the acme highly troubling but said the panel's opinions are its own. 

"It's an affirmation for those communities, their history, and for those young radical arsenic good who volition face, and proceed to face, that benignant of denialism," she said of the report.

"We volition proceed to determination guardant with the bully enactment that we are doing, present with yet different instrumentality successful our toolbox."

Tony Belcourt, founding president of the Native Council of Canada successful 1971 and MNO successful 1993, says relations with Ontario First Nations weren't ever truthful contentious.

"They utilized to travel to our assemblies and Louis Riel Day ceremonies regularly. We had a protocol with the Chiefs of Ontario," said Belcourt.

Belcourt, who went connected to pb MNO done the landmark Powley tribunal lawsuit successful 2003, produced a signed transcript of that governmental protocol from 2004.

"I'm gladsome to spot that the dense value of denial implicit the legitimacy of the Métis of Ontario and our communities present has yet been lifted," helium said.

Belcourt said it should beryllium imaginable to rekindle the nation-to-nation narration done ceremony, but the MNO's opponents said the study changes nothing. 

Moore-Frappier said MNO is stealing Anishinaabe ancestors — saying 1 of MNO's basal ancestors is really her great-great grandma — and lacks grounds of nationhood, specified arsenic a chiseled Indigenous language.

Froh cited the Métis assemblage successful the Sault Ste. Marie area, wherever the study says the Ontario authorities seized and burned a Métis colony successful 1967 to wide the mode for Lake Superior Provincial Park, which she said Métis from the Prairies would find familiar.

Meanwhile, the Otipemisiwak Métis Government successful Alberta said it neither supports nor endorses the review, portion MNC said it cannot o.k. oregon endorse the findings since it's an advocacy body, not a government.