Re: Consultation Office to Serve Members – Contact Us
Members and Partners,
The BC Métis Federation Consultation Office (the BCMFCO) was formed by the Board in late 2015 in response to growing concerns that grassroots member’s voices were not being included or considered in proposed development projects. The BCMFCO’s mission is to facilitate and support meaningful participation of BC Métis Federation’s grassroots members in major development decisions in BC.
Its vision: equity for BC Métis Federation members in terms of voice, benefit and ability to participate meaningfully. In order to support this mission and vision, the BCMFCO offers a wide-range of supportive services to members and to partner communities. These services include, but are not limited to, liaising with proponents and government agencies, coordinating participation in field studies, environmental assessments, and reviewing the work of external consultants, conducting internal assessments and research to support inclusion of Métis Indigenous Knowledge in federal and provincial regulatory processes, education and skills capacity training for this work, and research related to the substantiation of Métis Rights in BC.
The BCMFCO has developed, and continues to develop internal tools and resources that members and leadership from partner communities can draw on to support well-being of grassroots members, and support participation in proposed developments. This includes the development of a project registry, a record of communication database, and the launching of a Métis Knowledge and Land Use project, on which we will start work in January, 2016.
Over the next years, the BCMFCO will grow in size and scope, and as our knowledge of BC Métis Federation members, the BCMFCO will issue regular updates, and have regular discussions regarding development projects in BC. Métis people are uniquely tied to the environmental, social, cultural, and economic environments in BC, as in the rest of Canada, and BC Métis Federation members deserve to be included meaningfully in all of the major (and sometimes minor) development decisions in this province. In the spirit of Reconciliation, the BCMFCO invites proponents operating within BC, and proponents with plans to develop in BC to engage with the BC Métis Federation in dialogue. We need to create a safe space for conversation in order for consultation and mutual learning to happen meaningfully, and we will endeavour to provide that space for proponents who wish to enhance their relationship with BC’s Métis people.
If you have questions, concerns or comments, we wish to hear from you. If your community is getting requests or notifications from industry or government, we want to support you and your community, and if you are interested in sharing your Métis Knowledge, please contact us at the email or telephone number:
Kelly S. Davison Consultant, BC Métis Federation Consultation Office 3665 Kingsway #300, Vancouver, BC V5R 5W2 p: 604 638-7220 e: bcmf@ksdandassociates.com www.ksdandassociates.com/BC Métis FederationThank you,
Keith Henry President BC Métis Federation[ilink url=”https://bcmetis.com/wp-content/uploads/BC-Metis-Federation-Letter-to-Members-Partners-January-2016-Consultation-Office.pdf” style=”download”]Click here to download this letter as a PDF.[/ilink]
