Métis National Council begins high-stakes trial against former leaders

The Métis National Council is getting its day in court.

After three years of litigation, the embattled and weakened MNC on Monday kicked off a high-stakes civil trial against former leaders and consultants, with 68 days of hearings scheduled and more than 1,200 exhibits already submitted in Toronto's Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Senior Métis leaders are expected to testify at length over the next nine weeks, providing a rare look inside operations at two formerly allied entities while putting several years of internal turbulence under a microscope. 

MNC alleges a former administration conspired in a scorched earth campaign to seriously harm it and empower the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), according to a statement of claim filed in 2022.

The federation 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.

Before the split, the council claims, MNC then-president Clément Chartier, MMF President David Chartrand and MNC then-executive director Wenda Watteyne improperly funnelled key assets from the national organization to the MMF. 

Their aim was to empower and enrich themselves, alleged Robert Cohen, of Toronto-based law firm Cassels, during the plaintiff's opening statement Monday.

"The evidence will show that each of Mr. Chartrand, Mr. Chartier and Mrs. Watteyne knowingly exceeded their limited authority and breached their fiduciary duties to MNC," Cohen told court.

"In so doing, your honour will hear that they not only unjustly enriched themselves and the defendant Manitoba Métis Federation, but they also intentionally exceeded their limited authority and breached their duties of loyalty, so as to unjustly enrich each of the consultants."

After listening to the proceeding, Chartrand, who was also MNC finance minister before the split and will testify later this month, bristled at such talk.

"They're all allegations and they're false allegations and we will prove it," he said in an interview Monday.

Cohen went on to accuse Chartrand and Chartier of being in conflicts of interest while engaging in secretive self-dealing in breach of MNC's bylaws.

They were "orchestrating secret meetings and secret agendas" for years "to create a shadow government" at MNC "to undertake unauthorized, in many cases self-serving, transactions without the knowledge or approval of MNC's board of governors," said Cohen.

Chartrand countered that he acted in good faith at all times, sought legal advice where needed and left MNC in a strong financial position, having secured $3.2 billion in funding for the nation.

"They filed this political, agenda-driven case truly to damage the reputation of the Manitoba Métis Federation, damage the reputation of my name and others out of, in my view, pure vengeance," he said by phone.

'Political civil war'

MNC seeks $15 million in damages, $1 million in punitive damages and return of the transferred assets. Chartrand and Chartier have both filed counterclaims.

Last year, MNC filed a motion to regain temporary control of $8.65 million to commemorate Second World War veterans, as well as a culturally important history database, but lost.

The court sided with the federation and ordered MNC to pay $250,000 of its former ally's lawyer bills. 

Cohen went on to describe the last few years as a "political civil war" that escalated between 2019 and 2021, pitting bitterly divided factions against each other. The main issue was whether the Métis Nation of Ontario was in compliance with the national definition for Métis citizenship.

Three Métis political associations from the Prairies formed MNC in 1983 to advocate for their rights. Last year, Saskatchewan followed Manitoba's lead and separated from MNC. Then British Columbia left. MNC has thus lost three of its five members, leaving it with just Alberta and Ontario.

In an unattributed statement, MNC said it's confident the truth will be revealed and pursued the case to trial to ensure accountability, transparency and good governance.

"This is about stopping the misuse of funds and holding people responsible for actions that hurt Métis citizens," said the statement.

"The trial addresses serious concerns uncovered in an internal review, which revealed alleged mismanagement and misuse of funding intended for the benefit of all Métis citizens, including Métis veterans."

Chartrand denounced these comments. He argued MNC has no authority to advance the case any more following the recent withdrawals. MNC, he suggested, could even collapse entirely if hit with a big costs award.

The trial continues with opening statements.