Former Métis Nation of Alberta president testifies about dysfunction at national council

The former president of the Métis Nation of Alberta testified in Ontario court last week on how disagreement between provincial organizations began affecting operations of the Métis Nation Council (MNC).

The MNC is suing members of its former administration, alleging they conspired in a scorched earth campaign to seriously harm it and empower the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF). The MMF denies the allegations, calling the case a baseless and defamatory vendetta. MMF broke from the national council in 2021, citing a long-running Indigenous identity dispute with the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO).

Audrey Poitras, who was president of the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) from 1996 to 2023, was questioned about the function of the MNC by its lawyer Robert Cohen of Toronto-based law firm Cassels, in Toronto's Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Poitras testified that before November 2018, MNC was guided by the board of governors (made up of the elected presidents of the five provincial Métis organizations) and the general assembly (made up of delegates from the provincial organizations.)

She said that drastically changed when then-MNC president Clément Chartier and vice-president David Chartrand started making decisions without the input of the board.

Poitras said the MNC's board stopped meeting in 2019 shortly after Chartier sent a letter to the provincial organizations saying that the MNO should no longer be allowed to participate on the board of governors. This followed a resolution made by Chartrand during a general assembly in November 2018 to suspend MNO because of a dispute over who it let in its membership registry.

Poitras said between May 2019 and September 2021 the board of governors never met.

Poitras said there was conflict within the organization over the resolution to suspend MNO, and in her view the MNC bylaws did not have the authority to remove any provincial organization.

Cohen presented several examples of correspondence in which Poitras called for the MNC president to call a board meeting to deal with the concerns about MNO.

During cross-examination defence counsel Rahool Agarwal presented correspondence from Chartier in which he called for board meetings, in April, June and November of 2020. However, MNA, MN-S, and MNO refused the requests to meet because MNO was not included.

Agarwal suggested that if MNA and MN-S would have agreed to meet during any of these opportunities they could have raised their concerns over the MNO suspension and the function of the council. Agarwal suggested that it was their refusal to work with MNC that was frustrating the function of the organization.

Financial concerns

Poitras also said there were concerns over MNC finances starting in November 2018, when Canada conducted an audit of MNC programming.

Poitras said there were irregularities in the finances and was told some of these concerns were brought to the RCMP.

Poitras said the board was unsatisfied with the financial information Chartrand was presenting to them in 2018 in his position as MNC finance minister.

Poitras said the MNC owed the MNA about $33,000 at the time and the books showed the money had been paid back to the MNA. But Poitras said at the same November 2018 general assembly she was handed a $33,000 cheque by MNC executive director Wenda Watteyne dated that day for the reimbursement.

"If all things were done properly I should have done something about that, and I take responsibility for that," said Poitras.

"That was wrong for the auditor, that was wrong for the minister of finance, that was wrong for Wenda Watteyne."

Agarwal said there was no wrongdoing found by the auditor for this time and Crown Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) didn't require any money to be paid back to the government.

Poitras said there was concern over the spending of the MNC and in a letter called for the federal government to direct funding to the provincial organizations and not the MNC. In a letter to the CIRNAC minister in January 2020, MNA, MN-S and MNO said the MNC was increasingly dysfunctional and the three parties wanted a new national structure.

Cohen presented numerous contracts to the court in which Chartrand was the signatory on behalf of the MNC in his position as finance minister. 

Poitras repeatedly told the court that Chartrand was unable to make binding agreements on behalf of the MNC and that could only be done by the board of governors, which Poitras said was not told about contracts.

Some of these contracts included a veterans legacy fund and an agreement between MNC and MMF for service delivery of it, a Métis online database which included historical information that was transferred to be stored by MMF, and five contracts with consulting companies.

In cross-examination, Agarwal spoke about times when Chartrand signed contracts with the government on behalf of the MNC that were not disputed by the board. He also said according to MNC's own rules, the president did not need the approval of the board for decision making and was acting fairly.

The trial continues.