(March 26, 2026) Indigenous Services Canada, one of the largest sources of funds for Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) has announced they will be cutting expenditures by $1.4 billion dollars over the next three fiscal years. Another federal government department that MNBC receives a lot of money from is Crown-Indigenous Relations, and they too are cutting their expenditures by more than $200 million over the next three years.
Federal funding for the Urban Programming for Indigenous Peoples (UPIP) program, which MNBC has been receiving for years, is also being significantly cut as of March 31st.
At the same time, the BC government is running a budget deficit of more than $13 billion dollars – the largest deficit in the history of the province and the provincial Minister of Finance is tightening the screws on non-essential funding.
Given that MNBC relies on the federal and provincial governments for a large chunk of its funding – in the 2024/25 fiscal year that amounted to about $72 million, one would think with ominous clouds on the horizon that MNBC would be taking steps to prepare for the inevitable funding reductions. Not MNBC!!
In fact, in just the last three months, MNBC has advertised about another 30 positions in an already bloated staff of 300 to 400 people, they have spent money on legal counsel to deal with the issue of complaints against the current President, incurred thousands of dollars in hotel meeting and accommodation costs as the result of changing a meeting from an online meeting to a face-to-face, and Board members and staff are still travelling all over. In the last fiscal year MNBC actually spent nearly $1 million on meetings and conferences, more than $3 million on travel, another $3.3 million on consultants and professional fees, and the one that takes the cake - $34.1 million on salaries, wages and benefits.
Red River Métis British Columbia President Clara Morin DalCol says, “Any other non-profit organization that receives so much funding from government would have read the signs over the past year of governments tightening budgets and reduced funding, and taken steps accordingly to prepare, but not MNBC.”
“Between hiring more staff, paying for lawyers and consultants, and holding big meetings in fancy hotels, they just keep spending public funds like the money is never going to stop flowing,” says Ms. Morin DalCol.
She adds, “When the money runs out, they won’t know what to do, and what are the Métis communities going to do when they don’t get any more funding from MNBC?”
By the way, why is Walter Mineault still the President of MNBC? Almost a month ago, an overwhelming number of community Presidents requested the Board to remove him.
Don’t follow MNBC over the cliff. Ms. Morin DalCol encourages true Métis to join Red River Métis British Columbia, a real grassroots organization which is focused on improving the lives of our true Métis people in British Columbia. Red River Métis British Columbia works on the issues that matter to our members through strong and effective advocacy work with governments.
Join Red River Métis - British Columbia today, by clicking on
Comments