(April 12, 2024) Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) boasts about adding more Citizens to its Citizenship Registry but yet many MNBC Citizens are having to wait months for their Citizenship card to be renewed. Why the holdup?
The MNBC Ministry of Citizenship claimed in a report to the March 2024 Métis Nation Governing Assembly that their focus is on “efficiency, capacity, communication and increasing autonomy for applicants” but yet existing MNBC Citizens who are waiting for their renewals are seeing little evidence of “efficiency”. The March report also talked about having added five new Citizenship Navigators and that another three were to be added in “late winter”. Winter has come and gone, but Citizens are still waiting for renewals.
BC Métis Leader and former President Clara Morin Dal Col said, “I have heard from many MNBC Citizens who are growing frustrated waiting for their renewals to be processed. Some have been waiting more than a year. They question how MNBC has the time to be adding more Citizens, but yet doesn’t have time to process renewals.”
She said, “They have more staff and more money to run the Ministry but they can’t seem to get renewals out the door in a timely fashion. That’s an insult to our Citizens.”
The BC Métis Leader said, “I also find it curious that in the 165 page report to the MNGA, the Ministry of Citizenship could not find the room to tell Citizens how many renewals they are behind in processing. It is not a story that they want to talk about.”
Ms. Morin Dal Col, who is seeking the MNBC Presidency in September said, “Citizenship renewals should be a priority. Our current citizens should not have to wait months and months for their renewals. MNBC needs to get its act together, and this current Board needs to be held accountable for the slowness in processing renewals.”
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