An election is planned for Metis Local 21 in Ile A’la Crosse.
Board member Dorothy DuBrule says the vote is needed because the group has been largely dormant for the past couple of years.
“There’s been a Metis local for a number of years, since the 70’s I would think. At one point they were very active and very vocal and very powerful and then at some point it kind of petered off.”
As a result she says members finally decided to see what could be done to revive it:
“So we’ve been working on a number of things and one of the things that we worked on was the election process to put it in place. We chose to do it now because we feel it’s the right time to do it, to awaken the strong Metis people of Ile a’la Crosse once again.”
The vote is scheduled to take place on April 23rd.
DuBrule says in the meantime a voter registry is being created.
However she stresses anyone who is studying abroad or living in a city due to medical reasons will be allowed to self-declare at the ballot box and submit a vote.
Seven positions are open for election including President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and three Board members.
Nominations open on March 17.