The Metis Nation of Saskatchewan has failed to jump one of the hurdles to get back federal funding.
The Ministry of Indigenous Affairs and the MN-S signed an interim funding agreement in mid-February. Under that agreement, the MN-s would only see its funding fully reinstated if they followed certain conditions.
To move onto the next phase of funding after March 31, the MN-S’s Provincial Metis Council needed to unanimously decide on a location and date for their long-awaited Legislative Assembly.
A month later, President Robert Doucette said he is not backing down. He points out he’d already compromised on the dates of the MNLA.
“I’m willing to sit down and try and come up with a good place that we can all live with. But at this point our positions remain unchanged,” he said.
Doucette is stressing how tough it is to pay the bills when there’s no consistent federal funding. The financial insecurity is tough, but he said he’s doing right by his people.
“I know that’s what people want. I mean, you look around the world today, what are people mad about? I mean, you look at the phenomenon of Donald Trump, what’s that all about? That’s all about people feeling disenfranchised. So yes, I do believe that is something that is not only happening in the Metis Nation but it is happening worldwide.”
Doucette admits the clock is ticking.
“There’s a lot of things that need to take place in between now and July 30th, 31st. So the sooner we can hammer this out the better,” he said.
The Public Affairs team for the Ministry of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada confirms the interim funding agreement expired on March 31, and that the “next phase of funding” can only be unlocked when the PMC comes to a unanimous decision.
An email from INAC officials states they will “continue to work together with the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan leadership to resolve this issue and enable funding to the organization to resume.”