B.C. Métis Nation votes to withdraw from Métis National Council
Decision made in wake of similar moves by Manitoba and Saskatchewan groups
Members of the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) voted Saturday to leave the national organization, the Métis National Council, effective immediately.
The vote was held virtually during the B.C. group's governance assembly and follows similar moves by Métis groups in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
A statement from Métis Nation B.C. said the decision comes after "careful consideration and deliberation" by its elected board of directors and community leaders, who voted with a "strong majority" in favour of leaving the national council.
President Walter Mineault said in a statement that despite 40 years of "good work," the governance structure of the Métis National Council (MNC) is no longer equitable.
The current structure affords "absolute control" to the remaining founding member of the national council, the statement said.
"At this time, we just didn't feel we had an equal voice at that table and for us to be able to be involved in a structure like that, we need to have an equal voice," Mineault told CBC News in an interview.
"Our people need to be heard equally, as well as every other Métis citizen in this country."
Only one founding member remaining
The Métis National Council's bylaws state that board meetings will include the president and two of the founding members — Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta.
But only the Alberta group remains among the founders after the Manitoba Métis Federation pulled out in 2021, citing concerns with membership in the Métis Nation of Ontario, and the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan left this fall over similar reasons.
The decision in B.C. comes after "many failed attempts" to change the structure of the national council, the statement from Métis Nation B.C. said.
B.C. vice-president Melanie Allard said she was dismayed the groups could not find a way to continue together, but the B.C. organization must directly advocate for priorities that matter to Métis people in the province.
The Métis National Council said in a statement to CBC News that, as a member, MNBC had been an equal participant in discussions regarding reforming the national body.
"Today's MNBC statements regarding governing members' resistance to continued MNC governance modernization are untrue and unjustified," the statement read. "MNBC's concerns regarding equity were being addressed through recent reforms endorsed by the governing members."
In a separate statement, the Métis Nation of Alberta, now known as the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, said the group is "committed to fundamental reform at the Métis National Council."
With files from the CBC's Tessa Vikander