Quebec standoff centrestage at Metis forum

Page 7

The standoffs in Quebec dominated a forum Tuesday in Edmonton for Metis Nation presidential candidates.

It was suggested the association send a declaration to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney asking him to remove Canadian armed forces from surrounding Mohawk lands and to call a meeting with ministers and aboriginal leaders to entrench important aboriginal issues into the Constitution.

Metis Nation (formerly the MAA) president Larry Desmeules says his office has already sent money for food to the Mohawks and a letter of concern about the Mohawk crisis was sent to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Speaking to the media and a small contingent of Metis people at the forum, Desmeules stayed away from taking personal shots at rival candidates.

Instead he elected to talk about what the association has done over his three years in office.

"By late next year a senior citizens' home will be erected in Edmonton. We have done extensive work in the communities. They are active," said Desmeules.

Desmeules in his annual report to the assembly said the greatest thing the Metis Nation had accomplished was reaching a framework agreement with the provincial government.

Premier Don Getty and his government have shown commitment to the agreement, said the report.

The agreement provides a process to deal with Metis issues and to put a structure in place to deal with them.

Presidential candidate Sam Sinclair hinted Desmeules should not try to take all the credit for the framework agreement.

"No one person can take credit for the framework agreement..

"No one person can take credit for the framework agreement. The agreement had already begun when I left the MAA (in 1987)," Sinclair declared.

He said there is a need t restructure the MAA and to bring it back to the people.

"I will not be a puppet to government . The communities need money to upbring their livelihood and right now I see all this slipping away," Sinclair said.

Joe Blyan told the crowd he has worked for six MAA presidents. "I'm going to be the seventh.

"Sam and Larry boast about their years in office but they were not alone. The membership was always here.

"This organization must be based on trust. Only then will we have a strong association," Blyan added.

A first-time presidential candidate, Lester Howse, referred to his exclusive travel through South and Central America.

"We cannot be made political puppets based on greed. It is only geared to the death of our culture," Howse said, adding that Metis culture is more than a fiddle, a jig and moosehide jackets.

Howse said he has the confidence to talk with government on Metis terms and "on behalf of the Metis."

MAA presidential hopeful Dan Martel stressed the need for consulting with and getting the support of Metis communities in dealing with Metis issues.

He also stressed the need for unity.

"We must be better prepared to stand and fight for our sovereignty," he said.

Martel added now that Metis people are recognized as a nation in the Constitution of Canada, "it is time we all stand together."

Another candidate, Dorothy Daniels, said Metis people today want their association to respect their dignity.

She said during the 1960s and 1970s education encouraged for Metis people, many of whom obtained various skills.

"our responsibility now is to utilize those skills and put these people to work, " Daniels said.

Presidential candidate Fred House said Metis and Indian people have been denied their rights for over 100 years.

"As Metis we are fighting for the same things today that Louis Riel and the Metis fought for 105 years ago.

"They fought for their rights against a government led by Sir John A. Macdonald and the Metis today are fighting against the same type of government," he said.

"Not until all Indian and Metis stand together as one in unity will the governments listen to us," he said.