Refusal to include Citizen Resolutions on the agenda for the upcoming AGM very disappointing

A Statement from President Clara Morin Dal Col to MNBC Citizens

(February 10, 2021) It has come to my attention that Christopher Gall, the clerk for the upcoming Annual General Meeting (“AGM”), refused a series of resolutions proposed by Citizens of the Métis Nation British Columbia (“MNBC”) for inclusion on the AGM agenda (the “Citizen Resolutions”). I have been provided with a copy of the written reasons for Mr. Gall’s refusal (contained in the opinion of Jordan A. Forsyth, Baker Newby LLP, dated February 5, 2021).

One of the Citizen Resolutions brought forward seeks to nullify the unlawful January 18, 2021 motion of nine MNBC Board Members purportedly suspending (and effectively removing) me as President of MNBC (the “Reinstatement Resolution”). The Reinstatement Resolution would have provided an opportunity for Citizens to address my purported suspension (and effective removal) as MNBC President through the MNBC’s democratic process of Citizen voting at an AGM. By refusing to include the Reinstatement Resolution on the AGM agenda, Mr. Gall has thwarted this democratic process. The justification offered was the pretense that the Societies Act prohibited the Reinstatement Resolution from going forward. I find the decision of the clerk to be very disappointing.

As is made clear in the resolution itself, the Reinstatement Resolution involves MNBC matters only. The January 18, 2021 motion of nine MNBC Board Members – which the Reinstatement Resolution seeks to nullify – only purported to suspend me as President of the MNBC. That unlawful motion made no mention whatsoever of my functions as President of the Métis Provincial Council of British Columbia (“MPCBC”), which is an incorporated society. Unlike MPCBC, MNBC is not an incorporated society under the Societies Act. For that reason, the provisions of that legislation governing membership resolutions do not apply to the Reinstatement Resolution, which concerns only MNBC matters. Thus, the Societies Act provision invoked to justify denying the Reinstatement Resolution’s inclusion on the agenda plainly has no connection to that resolution.

Furthermore, past MNBC practice has been to accept resolutions from MNBC Citizens submitted in advance of the AGM or, indeed, brought forward during the AGM. A resolution of this kind, which seeks to reaffirm the wishes of the electorate, should be permitted to go forward based on this past practice.

It has also come to my attention that Mr. Gall has refused to include on the agenda the proposed Citizen Resolutions that seek to remove the nine MNBC Board Members responsible for my unlawful suspension (and effective removal). Mr. Gall rejected these resolutions on the same groundless basis as the Reinstatement Resolution.

The refusal to include the Citizen Resolutions on the AGM agenda based on the pretense of the Societies Act and in breach of established custom amounts to an attempt to stifle the voices of MNBC Citizens. As a result of this refusal, I am concerned that the confidence of MNBC Citizens that they will be able to be heard at the AGM, and that all perspectives will be treated fairly, has been gravely undermined.

I would have liked to have the opportunity to express my concerns directly with Mr. Gall. However, the January 18, 2021 motion purporting to suspend me also purports to prevent me from directly communicating with MNBC staff. I have initiated a legal proceeding to challenge the lawfulness of that motion, and I do not agree with the draconian measures imposed on me by that motion.

Sincerely,

Clara Morin Dal Col

Clara Morin Dal Col

President, MNBC