Gary Lipinski, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario (right),and, Laura Formusa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hydro One Networks Inc. (left) sign an Engagement Protocol on Hydro One’s Bruce-Milton Transmission Line

The Protocol is the first of its kind between the Métis Nation and an energy industry partner in Ontario. It will enable the MNO to inform and engage Métis citizens living throughout the region about the Project, while also enabling the MNO to participate in the Bruce-Milton Line’s upcoming assess environmental assessment. The Protocol also creates a joint MNO-Hydro One committee to support this collaborative work.

“This Protocol represents a significant milestone in the MNO’s ongoing efforts to ensure the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate Métis communities in the province is being fulfilled. Through this Protocol, the MNO will work with its Community Councils in the potentially affected region to ensure all Métis citizens are informed about and engaged in relation to the Bruce-Milton Line,” said President Lipinski.

“We are proud to be a signatory to this agreement as it is the first of its kind between the Métis Nation of Ontario and an energy industry partner in this province, said Laura Formusa, Hydro One President and Chief Executive Officer, Hydro One. “Today is a very important day for Hydro One because it demonstrates the importance we place on developing, building and maintaining relationships with First Nations and Métis people.”

The MNO represents the Métis people in the province of Ontario. 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 from Ontario westward.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 kilometre high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 122,000 kilometre low-voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end-use customers and smaller municipal utilities in the province. Hydro One is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario.

CONTACT:
Bob Waldon
Métis Nation of Ontario
Natural Resources, Environment and Community Relations
C: (905) 301-5203

Daniele Gauvin
Hydro One Media Relations
T: (416) 345-6868 or 1-877-506-7584