Mtis Nation of Ontario's future at stake as members vote on fate of thousands

The fate of thousands of Mtis Nation of Ontario (MNO) members with no documented link to a Mtis ancestor hangs in the balance as the organizationvotes this week in a province-wide plebiscite.

The vote comes following years of factionalism and turmoil at the Mtis National Council (MNC), driven in part by questions about the integrity of theMNO's membership.

The question before the MNO's27,000 or somembers is this: Should 5,400 of those members whose files lack hard evidence of a Mtis connection be removed from the registry?

Whichever way it goes,themembers have theorganization's future in their hands as they cast their ballots, saidMNO President Margaret Froh.

"This is about Mtis self-determination. We need clarity," Froh said.

"One of the very first things that any self-governing Indigenous nation does is clearly identify who it represents."

If the members vote yes, the MNO can say it represents members with verifiable ties to communities the MNO recognizes as Mtis.

In that case, Froh would have to call a special assembly to seek direction.No one would lose membership immediately, but the assembly would face the sensitive question of what to do with and potentially how to dump the rejected members.

But if they vote no, Froh has another problem on her hands: How can the MNO, as a Mtis association, knowingly represent people whose identity it can't vouch for?

"That's something we will have to sort out," Froh said.

"It's an issue that will have to be resolved if we're going to move forward in advancing our rights assertions."

Manitoba group slams 'pan-Indigenous agenda'

Debates about Mtis identityturned Ontario into a battleground in recent years, with both First Nations and other Mtis groups questioning the MNO's registry.

The Mtis are a distinct Indigenous people that emerged through the fusion of First Nations and European cultures in the west of what is now Canada. But groups from eastern regions like Quebec and the Maritimes continue to emerge, laying so-far unsuccessful claims to Mtis rights.

A 2021 report commissioned by the MNO showed the majority of its members trace their ancestry to communities whose legitimacy the Manitoba Mtis Federation (MMF), representing the Red River Mtis, disputes.

The review showed about 23 per cent or nearly one in four MNO members had incomplete files. (Froh said that number is now at 18 per cent.) Less than 4,000 of the MNO's24,000 citizens at the time or about 16 per cent traced their ancestry to western Canada.

MMF leadership for years accused the MNO of "opening the floodgates" to easterners who may have Indigenous ancestry, but aren't Mtis. In an emailed statement to CBC News, the MMF accused the MNO of turning its back on the historic Mtis Nation.

"The MNO, along with their side clubs, continue to push their pan-Indigenous agenda," said President David Chartrand, referring to the other provincial branches of the national council.

"The MMF was a founding member of the MNC and that organization's purpose was served."

The MMF, the Mtis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Mtis Nation of Alberta created the national council in 1983. British Columbia and Ontario joined in the 1990s.

The MMFbroke from the council in 2021 over the citizenship struggle, after Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta formed an alliance dubbed the tri-council.

Froh saidher critics are sharing misinformation.

She points out the MNO led the watershed Powley court case, which sparked the Supreme Court of Canada's 2003 affirmation of Mtis constitutional rights.

The high court also confirmed the existence of a historic Mtis community near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., in the upper Great Lakes region, more than 1,000 kilometreseast of Winnipeg.

"There is no doubt as to the credibility of the Mtis Nation of Ontario as a Mtis government," she said.

"The MNO has been a leader in advancing Mtis rights across this country and we continue to lead."

The deadline to vote is Feb. 28.