Infighting Scuttles MN-S Constitutional Amendments
Monday, November 29, 2010 at 15:23
This past weekend’s Metis Nation Legislative Assembly and Annual General Assembly in Saskatoon were marred by accusations of personal attacks, an altercation, and heckling from the gallery — as well as rumoured calls for an early election.
MNLA co-chair Michelle Leclair Harding stepped down on Sunday after alleging she had been insulted by an MN-S official.
MN-S President Robert Doucette’s reading of the MN-S Intergovernmental Affairs submission for Constitutional Reform started a firestorm of questions and concerns, followed by a motion to scrap the amendments.
Delegate Karen Larocque, who seconded the motion, called the amendments “garbage.”
In the end, the motion was passed, which meant the proposed changes were not accepted.
The assembly then voted to not vote on any amendments to the MN-S citizenship act, proposed governance structures and MNLA act.
During his state of the nation address, Doucette said he’d been dealing with personal attacks and made reference to an e-mail he saw recently on Facebook where someone called him “President Douchette”.
He also told the assembly that his wife left the gathering in tears because she was “attacked” in an altercation with another woman Sunday outside the assembly.
Doucette also acknowledged that he was hearing some people wanted an early MN-S election.
He said he is proud of his work and welcomes letting the people decide who should lead, adding he believes the MN-S is the strongest it has been in a decade.
The Senate requested Senator Nora Cummings address the assembly, where she admonished the delegates for the behaviour she was seeing.
Cummings said Metis people should be respectful to leaders, but instead she had been hearing heckling from the back and people disrespecting those who were speaking.
She also said she hadn’t heard anyone stand up and saying anything constructive about helping elders or the youth.
Cummings said as long as such behaviour continues, things will go nowhere for young Metis people.
Meanwhile, a leadership dispute in the Meadow Lake region was addressed during Sunday’s AGA.
Gwen King told the assembly that the Metis in that area called for an election because they weren’t satisfied with how the previous election was run or the representation they were getting.
As a result, there were two local presidents: King and Guy Bouvier.
A motion was made to recognize King as local president and it was carried by a vote of 37 to 13.
Area director Mavis Taylor left the AGA at that point, saying she would not recognize King as the local president.
Meanwhile, the MN-S has a new treasurer.
Louis Gardiner defeated Helen Johnson by a vote count of 42 to 32 at this weekend’s MNLA.
He takes over from former MN-S treasurer Gabe Lafond, who resigned earlier to enter federal politics in northern Saskatchewan as the Liberal candidate.
Gardiner says Metis people have a right to know what’s going on, but he says that must be balanced with trusting the leaders who were elected to do their jobs.
Gardiner will hold the position until there is either a by-election or the next general MN-S election in 2012.