(Kamloops, BC) BC Métis Federation held their final board meeting for this current term this past weekend in Kamloops at the Sandman Signature Hotel. The board addressed a number of items including addressing ongoing work regarding critical issues facing Métis people in British Columbia that the organization represents.
One of the key items the BC Métis Federation leadership wanted to initiate prior to the election was to outline our vision of how we expect the Government of Canada to respond to the Daniels Case and the implementation of that Supreme Court of Canada decision this past April. Since this historic ruling the Government of Canada also released the Special Representative report authored by Thomas Isaac which provided an independent review of Section 35 Métis rights across Canada.
The question today is how will the Government of Canada respond and implement the Daniels Case or the Isaac Report? As such BC Métis Federation prepared our Daniels Case Action Plan that was approved by the board this past weekend.
BC Métis Federation President Keith Henry stated, “I am so proud of our leadership that sets our vision for our members. We do not beg or wait for handouts. We set the agenda by knowing what we want and how we want to incorporate member and partners into shaping this future. We will all need to push the Government of Canada to ensure these important rulings and reports mean something real for all Métis people.”
BC Métis Federation President Keith Henry added, “It is hard to believe this current board of BC Métis Federation leadership is almost done our term. It has been a challenging but rewarding past 2 years and we feel strongly that we have made massive progress since being elected in September 2014. We have doubled membership, maintained Métis cultural programming, fought for Métis rights in the courts asserting jurisdiction in the foster child case of “SS”, dramatically increased consultation with industry and the Federal Government, established our Métis economic development corporation. and built the strongest Métis communications network in Canada using social media that is far exceeding the results for other Métis organizations across the country. It was our relentless commitment to build strong Métis governance for members we represented that created this success. It was our visionary leadership that has approved the first ever online Métis voting platform for September 24th and we are proud to bring democracy forward for all of our members. This is also a first ever in any Métis organization in Canada. The ability for members to vote is critical to our values and we are confident members will vote leaders they feel will continue making differences because we have made it easy to participate from anywhere in British Columbia in September.”
BC Métis Federation President Henry further added, “The release of the Daniels Case Action Plan is another show of the strong leadership skills within this board. Thank you Secretary Joe Desjarlais for leading this initiative working with team member Jesse Donovan and finalizing the action plan through input from our board over the course of the last few months.
BC Métis Federation President Henry concluded, “Thank you board members for your commitment, sacrifices and dedication over the last 2 years. I am excited about the future and know BC Métis Federation members will elect a strong board to continue carrying out important priorities for the organization such as the Daniels Case Action Plan and numerous other initiatives far beyond September 24th!”
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Media Inquiries:
Keith Henry, President
BC Métis Federation
#300-3665 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC V5R 5W2
Office 1-604-638-7220 Cell 1-778-388-5013
Email k.henry@bcmetis.com
You can now follow BC Métis Federation President Keith Henry on twitter @keithhenryMetis
You can follow BC Métis Federation on twitter @BCMétis
[ilink url=”https://bcmetis.com/wp-content/uploads/BCMF-Press-Release-August-2nd-2016-Daniels-Action-Plan-Released.pdf” style=”download”]To download this press release in PDF format, click here.[/ilink]
[ilink url=”https://bcmetis.com/wp-content/uploads/BC-Metis-Federation-Daniels-Case-Final-Action-Plan-August-2016.pdf” style=”download”]Click here to download the BCMF Action Plan in PDF format.[/ilink]