Metis Nation Council Call for Leaders' Resignation

Metis Nation council call for leaders' resignation

By Lori Coolican and Jason Warick, The StarPhoenix June 10, 2010

A majority of the council of the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) is calling for the immediate resignations of the organization's president and vice-president.

The council alleges president Robert Doucette and vice-president Allan Morin have contravened the MNS constitution by making decisions without consulting elected representatives. One council member, however, said Doucette has been extremely open and democratic and called these allegations absurd.

Doucette and Morin "have been unilaterally making decisions without consultation to the provincial Metis council" for the past 18 months, says a news release issued Wednesday and signed by nine council members.

The Metis council is an 18-person body made up of 12 regionally elected members, four provincially elected members, a women's representative and a youth representative. It currently has two vacant seats.

"On numerous occasions members of the provincial Metis council have requested meetings to discuss issues and to make decisions that affect their constituents as outlined by the constitution and the Metis Nation legislative assembly," the release says.

"For the most part these requests have been ignored by the president and vice-president. As a result, the majority of the governing body is not aware of the state of the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan and have not been part of decisions made that can and will affect the future of the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan."

Through the legislative assembly, the council will make interim appointments to replace Doucette and Morin pending a byelection or the organization's next general election, scheduled to take place in 2012, the release says.

Neither Doucette nor Morin could be reached for comment Wednesday. One council member who did not sign the press release, Bob McLeod, defended Doucette and Morin.

He said certain council members are secretive, but not Doucette and Morin.

"I totally disagree with all of this. Their claims are not correct," McLeod said.

McLeod said the select council members held a secret meeting last week in Prince Albert to plot the ouster of Doucette and Morin and McLeod and others were not invited. McLeod said the council may think it has the power to remove the president, but he doesn't think it does. That must be done in a regularly scheduled election, he said.

He said the news release was issued by councillors who'd been left out of key committees and portfolio assignments. He called their claims "sour grapes."

The MNS has a long history of infighting and scandal which had, at least publicly, appeared to subside under Doucette's leadership.