Updated with reading of minutes from past PMC meeting.
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The Metis Nation-Saskatchewan held their official swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday at Dakota Dunes Conference Centre, however, the ceremony wasn’t without controversy.
While most of the Provincial Metis Council was sworn in during the ceremony, there were a few notable absences.
Three positions of the PMC were not sworn-in because of an onging recount, but it was two other absences that raised some eyebrows at the ceremony. These included recently re-elected regional representatives Sherry McLennan (Western Region II) and Wendy Gervais (Western Region III).
McLennan and Gervais were listed as members of the PMC in a media release handed out by MN-S officials, however, they were then listed as “not-in-attendance” in an official schedule for the ceremony.
While the two regional representatives may not have been present in the official ceremony, they were outside the conference centre, being told they were unable to attend.
The issue stems back to March, when McLennan, Gervais and two other former members of the Provincial Metis Council were removed from participating in PMC meetings because of harassment claims.
The harassment claims against the four women came after they had filed their own harassment accusation against an MN-S employee. The women continue to assert their initial harassment complaints were dismissed without due process.
Both representatives from the MN-S and the women have stated they cannot speak openly about the issues at hand in the harassment investigations.
However, speaking outside of the swearing-in ceremony, the two women say they believed the issue would reset after they were re-elected by their representatives in the May 24 election.
“I know talking legally, from other individuals in the legal field, usually, under new elections there will be a reset, and that’s what we had hoped, was a reset,” said Wendy Gervais. “We both won. We were excited to come back to the table to work with our colleagues, new and old, and continue to move forward. And it’s unfortunate that that’s not happening right now.”
Gervais and McLennan are re-elected officials in the MN-S government and say they should be allowed in government processes.
“I really believe they are not listening to our people who have voted in the election, took time out of their day to go and make those democratic votes,” said McLennan. “We need to follow the constitution, and that hasn’t been done…. we just want to take our rightful space and be able to represent our citizens in the right way.”
Speaking with reporters at the swearing-in ceremony, MN-S president Glen McCallum was asked about the two women restricted from participating.
“That’s in house stuff that is going on with our government. It happens everywhere,” said McCallum. “The provincial government has removed people, well, we’re no different here. And, nothing is ever 100% working well in regards to politics. But at the same time, if you look at the majority of success that we’ve had, I’m very confident in moving forward in regards to the people that we have.”
When asked if there was a path forward for McLennan and Gervais to return to PMC meetings, McCallum says there is “a process for everything”, but didn’t elaborate further.
MBC News has since asked MN-S officials if there is a section of the Constitution of the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan that supported the removal of elected officials from PMC meetings. As of publication, the MN-S has not yet responded directly to that request.
According to the two women, they were removed from their positions at the PMC meeting in March and they say a resolution was passed asking them to apologize to the MN-S employee at the centre of the harassment claims.
“I have no problem apologizing when I make a mistake,” said Gervais. “I don’t think Sherry does either. However, we’re very well aware that we have done nothing wrong.”
The latest PMC meeting minutes posted on the MN-S website is from February 2025. MBC News asked for the minutes from the March meeting. In response, the resolution that was passed in the March meeting to remove the four women from attending Provincial Metis Council meetings was read into record at the June 25 PMC Meeting.
The full reading of the resolution is available here:
Moving forward, both women say they will continue to serve their regions in whatever way they can.
“We will both remain in our seats because we were elected through a democratic process,” said Gervais.
(TOP PHOTO – Wendy Gervais and Sherry McLennan speak with reporters outside the swearing-in ceremony at Dakota Dunes Conference Centre. Photo by Joel Willick.)