Oilsands Deal Alarms La Loche Metis Leader

Oilsands Deal Alarms La Loche Metis Leader

Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 14:55

The president of the Metis local in La Loche says he has not endorsed a recent development agreement there.

Don Montgrand says neither he nor his membership recognize the La Loche Clearwater Development Authority or their deal with Toronto-based Blacksands Petroleum.

The Metis Nation – Saskatchewan recently affirmed Montgrand’s position as the local president, saying any agreements need to be authorized by him.

He says companies must realize that only duly-elected Metis leaders can sign development agreements like these.

Montgrand believes the matter may be tied to an incident earlier this summer when some local members unsuccessfully tried to oust him as president.

But he stresses he was duly-elected on January 16th of this year and will carry out his mandate.