Manitoba Mtis Federation scores $213K in legal fees from Mtis National Council

An Ontario judge ordered the Mtis National Council (MNC) to pay more than $213,000 ofthe Manitoba Mtis Federation's legal bills on Thursday, after the federation scored an early win this summer in a bitter legal battle between the two former allies.

The costs awardprompted federation President David Chartrand to accuse the national group of squandering the Mtis people's money on frivolous, defamatory litigation.

"The organization is wasting the court's time and the financial resources of Mtis people for the sole purpose of destroying reputations," Chartrand said of the MNC in a news release Thursday.

The Manitoba group broke from the national council in 2021, following a long-runningdispute with the Mtis Nation of Ontario. Thesplit sparkedan ongoing lawsuit in the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto.

In early 2022, the MNC sued both the federation and the MNC's former administration, alleging they conspired in a "scorched earth" scheme to strip the council of its assets, enrich themselves and empower the Manitoba group politically.

Chartrand and MMF continue to deny the claims.

In July, the court sided with the MMF when it shut down the MNC's bid to regain temporary control of some of the assets, namely $8.65 million from a federally funded Mtis veterans program and an online history database, until the lawsuit comes to trial.

Justice Robert Centa said the council sought "execution before judgment," apoint he reiteratedon Thursday, writing that "the MMF was clearly and overwhelmingly successful on this motion" which was of "critical importance" to it.

Theunderlying claims weren'tdecided; rather the judge ruled they must be decided properly at trial, not on a temporary basis before.

In an interview on Thursday, MNC President Cassidy Caronvowed to press ahead.

"The awarding of costs does not mean that there was a win or a loss," Caron said.

"This is a part of the process that we are going through, and we will still be pursuing all of this at trial."

Chartrand hailed the initialrejection as a resounding win and continued to press the point following the latest order.

"Simply put, is this money taken from the kitchen tables of Mtis families in Saskatchewan and Alberta?" he said in the release.

"Mtis deserve better from those who claim to represent their interests."

More than $250K owed

After the failed July motion, the MNC tried to argue it was "a substantial success," as it secured preservation of the database and production of relevant financial files, which the council asked for in the alternative.

But the judge rejected that interpretation.

"This was not a case of divided success," he wrote.

"MNC did not get the relief that prompted the motion. MMF was the successful party."

The federation said the MNC also agreed to pay $50,000 following another unsuccessful motion late last month putting the national organizationon the hook for more than $250,000 oftheir opponents' lawyer bills.

"Of course, it's money for legal that has to go out the door," Caronsaid when asked how an order of that magnitude could impact the MNC's operations.

"We were aware that there would be legal costs throughout this process, but ultimately this is something that we need to do to move forward for the Mtis Nation."

TheMtis history database and the programthatrecognizes Mtis veterans for their Second World War serviceremain with the federation, which helped found the national council in 1983 to advocate for Mtis constitutional rights.

The judge said not many motions would justify so large an award, but because MNC "started this particular interlocutory skirmish,"he was satisfiedit'sreasonable, fair and proportionate.