MNC expert panel report riddled with errors that undermine Nationhood and perpetuate identity theft

WINNIPEG, MB, IN THE NATIONAL HOMELAND OF THE RED RIVER MÉTIS , April 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis roundly condemns the report released by what remains of the Métis National Council (MNC), for Métis Nation of Ontario's (MNO) use in distorting our identity.

"There is nothing new in this report. It is the same, tired old assertions wrapped up in a pretty package, complete with a built in, pre-determined conclusion," said Will Goodon, MMF Minister of Identity Protection and Inter-Indigenous Relations. "The report's falsehoods include questionable maps and ludicrous assertions of allyship during the 1816 Victory at Frog Plain and the Red River Resistance. We know for a fact that the Red River Métis stood alone in the fight for our existence. These events, as well as our language, culture, and community, were the sparks of our Nationhood, and were not shared by individual people of mixed ancestry in what is now Ontario."

The expert panel's report clearly provides no new analysis or evidence to support the MNO's claims of legitimacy. From the very foundation, the expert panel's "Threads of the Sash Analysis" redefines the requirement for Métis Nation Ancestry to meet the MNO's needs. The report suggests that "Ancestral and Kinship Threads" could be met by focusing on how individuals are identified as mixed, both today and hundreds of years ago, instead of using the appropriate markers of Nationhood. The continued myopic focus on individuals rather than community is one of many reasons why this report is built on faulty logic.

The report further states that if a community asserts its identity as Métis or Halfbreed, the assertion must be recognized as valid, which is a deeply disturbing distortion of our ways, and counter to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The MNO's ongoing assertions are so egregiously incorrect and ahistorical that they have destroyed the once-strong national government – the Métis National Council – vindicating the MMF's reasons for departure in 2021, which was followed by Métis Nation Saskatchewan (MN-S) in 2024 for similar reasons. Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) also left, and immediately denounced association with the report upon its release. MN-S followed with a similar rejection of the report.

The MNC today only represents select parts of Alberta and, of course, the MNO's membership, the vast majority of whom have no tie to the Red River.

"We took the unprecedented step of leaving the MNC, which we helped to build, in order to protect the integrity of the Nation against the fakes and frauds," said Minister Goodon. "We chose to leave so we could focus on our principles and our deep-seated belief in what we know to be true about our distinct Nation. This report is nothing more than the MNO's final drive to achieve legitimacy, and it falls flat on its face. We are looking at the result of a long series of failures by the MNC in its mandate to protect our Nation. Now it stands for absolutely nothing."

Despite the MMF's refusal to participate in the expert panel report, the MMF is referenced more than 100 times throughout the document. Without any hands-on knowledge of the material they are discussing, many of these references spread misinformation regarding our governance systems and processes which have been designed by our grassroots leaders and in place since 1967. Our focus has always remained on protecting our Nation and Homeland against any who would pervert our identity or attempt to destroy our cause.

"It's true that we were invited to participate, but refused to acknowledge the invitation as we knew the outcome was predetermined in this phoney exercise," said Minister Goodon. "It was clear to us that they always intended to misrepresent, misquote, or ignore any information or presentations of fact we could have brought forward."

This report also ignores the findings of third-party researchers and experts with whom it doesn't agree, and publications that run against their objective of recognizing MNO's new historic Métis communities, including reports commissioned and published by the Chiefs of Ontario and others. The MMF will never back away from the fight to protect our identity, and will be developing a full and comprehensive response to this 264-page document in the coming weeks, with the engagement of actual subject matter experts.

"The outcome of this report was never in question," said David Chartrand, President of the MMF. "When the 'expert panel' was proposed in 2021, we already knew what the findings would be, as did those commissioning it. For nearly two decades, we have experienced the same lack of sincerity on the part of the MNO when it comes to complying with the Métis National Definition and Homeland Map. Their objective has always been clear – to wave a magic wand and create a new people. We know who we are, as do the First Nations of Ontario, and there is simply no room for MNO to create a new people."

Believe in Yourself; Believe in Métis.

The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is the democratically elected National Government of the Red River Métis, also known as the Manitoba Métis. The Red River Métis are a distinct Indigenous Nation and People and Canada's Negotiating Partners in Confederation and the Founders of the Province of Manitoba.

SOURCE Manitoba Metis Federation

For more information, media may contact: Kat Patenaude, Media Relations Advisor, Manitoba Métis Federation, 204-801-7710, [email protected]