MAA battles opposing group over use of names

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There's going to be a showdown between the MAA and Metis Self-determination Society of Alberta.

The two groups have been squabbling since last summer when the Metis Association of Alberta suspended four officials of the association's Zone 3 Regional Council.

The suspended officials went on to form the self-determination society, taking with them the names of Locals 1,2 and 3 of the MAA.

The MAA recently won one skirmish, convincing the Court of Queen's Bench, a least temporarily, that it had sole right to use the names Local 1, Local 2 and Local 3.

Bert Proskiw, registrar of corporation with Alberta Consumer and Corporate Affairs, said the MAA successfully obtained a court order to block the society from using the names of the three locals.

But society lawyer John Middleton said a full hearing will be heard at Court of Queen's Bench in March on whether the society can use the names of the three locals.

"The whole issue is whether or not a local of the Metis Association of Alberta has it within its power to secede from the organization if it wants to. We suggest it is within the authority of the locals to do that," he said.

A hearing on a $50,000 lawsuit filed by the MAA against founding members of the society will be heard sometime later, he said.

The MAA is suing four men formerly affiliated with Calgary MAA locals: Bruce Letendre (Local 1001 vice-president); Jim White (Local 18 president); Mike Woodward (Local 2002 president) and Doug Fidler (Local 1001 president).

In a statement of defense, the group denied they had been properly suspended by the MAA and that they lost their status as MAA officials.

The MAA claims after the members were suspended they misrepresented themselves as executives of three MAA locals in Calgary and changed the names of the locals to the Self-Determination Society without the consent of the locals or the MAA.

But society officials maintain they were authorized by their membership to change the names and in doing so acted "in the best interests of their members."

They also deny they have damaged the MAA.

The society is hoping to replace the MAA as the representative of southern Alberta Metis and to receive the lion's share of southern funding now received by the MAA from the provincial and federal governments.

That would amount to an estimated $180,000 a year.

Zone 3 includes Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House south to the United States border.