SUDBURY, ON --- Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) President, Gary Lipinski, joined with local and regional Métis leadership and more than 120 citizens in Sudbury on to sign a Protocol, which aims to ensure the Crown fulfills its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate Métis rights, interest and way of life in the region.

“With this Protocol, the Métis Nation is building on the Supreme Court of Canada’s affirmation of Métis rights in the landmark Powley case. By working together, the MNO and its Community Councils will ensure all Métis citizens will have a say on what is being done on the lands they have relied on for generations,” said President Lipinski.

The Protocol commits various levels of Métis government to work together to ensure all Métis citizens who live in and use the Métis traditional territories of Mattawa/Lake Nipissing will be consulted in relation to upcoming hydroelectric, mining and forestry developments in these territories.

“The signing of this protocol is a positive step forward for the council and Métis people as a whole,” said Sudbury Métis Council President Richard Sarrazin.

“The Crowns Duty to Consult and Accommodate is vital in our Métis communities,” said North Bay Métis Council President Mel Jamieson. “Our entire Métis community will benefit from this initiative. “

The Métis are a distinct Aboriginal people with a unique culture, language and heritage, with an ancestral Homeland that centres around Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and extends into the Northwest Territories and the northwestern United States. The Métis played an instrumental role in the shaping of Canada, and work tirelessly to share their culture, traditions and knowledge of the environment with their fellow Canadians. Today, the Métis live, work, raise their families and pay taxes in communities all across Canada.

CONTACT:
Chelsey Quirk
MNO Communications Branch
T: 613.798.1488
TF: 800.263.4889