BC Métis Nation Leader Calls Report the Most One Sided Ever

(August 22, 2021) BC Métis Nation Leader Clara Morin Dal Col has called a report released by the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) Board of Directors on August 20, 2021 in response to allegations against her as the most one sided report she has ever read. The Board of Directors used the report to remove her as the democratically elected President on August 20th.

“The Board threw as much mud against me as they could hoping that it would stick so that they would use it to remove me from the office I was elected to by the Citizens less than a year ago”, said Ms. Morin Dal Col. “I chose not to participate in the investigator’s preparation of the report because it was simply a witch hunt to ultimately satisfy the Group of Nine’s none stop efforts to try and bring me down and find justification for their actions in suspending me in January 2021,” said the Métis Nation Leader.

The report is long, rambling and wordy, and not everyone may read it in its entirety, but some of the allegations and the investigator’s findings need to be addressed. It should be noted that many of the allegations in the report have already been addressed by previous Boards and by Ms. Morin Dal Col in public forums.

Misuse of MNBC Finances – The allegations involve use of the MNBC credit card for personal expenses, reimbursement to MNBC for MNC travel costs, and a missing television from the condo leased for Ms. Morin Dal Col for use as President.

Response – Any expenses incurred on the MNBC credit card were related to my work as President on behalf of MNBC. One of the main charges that the investigator questions on the MNBC credit card is for Rvezy.com (an RV rental site). Both of the charges are related to renting a recreational trailer to be able to attend the annual “Back to Batoche” celebrations in Saskatchewan and the St. Madeleine event in Manitoba in July 2019 on behalf of MNBC. Both of these events are important celebrations to attend for our Métis people and several Métis leaders attend them each year. The former President of MNBC always attended the “Back to Batoche” celebrations. With regard to reimbursement to MNBC for MNC travel costs, I provided my travel receipts to the MNBC Finance Department believing that they would simply invoice MNC for any charges as was done previously. That is a fairly normal task that I believed was being taken care of. The missing 50 inch television from the condo seems to be of great concern to the Vice President. In actual fact, MNBC never bought any 50 inch TV set for the condo. MNBC did buy a 32 inch set that was left at the condo when I moved out after I was suspended. Before moving out of the condo I thoroughly cleaned it and it was inspected by the condo manager to ensure it was left in perfect condition. I also left all the furniture when I moved out. Question – What has happened to all the furniture and the precious TV set?

Breach of Confidentiality and Privacy – The allegations involve me telling an MNBC Citizen that I was in a meeting, and also that I accessed VP Lissa Smith’s Citizenship file.

Response – There was no breach of confidentiality and privacy during the Board meeting of January 18, 2021. In actual fact, at the insistence of some of the Board members, I simply texted MNBC Citizen Don Courson telling him “just having a meeting”.

With regard to VP Lissa Smith’s Citizenship file, I never personally accessed her Citizenship file. However, I did question her citizenship because I had numerous Citizens ask me about the VP’s Citizenship and as a result I asked the CEO to look into the issue. He claimed he had two or three genealogists review her file and they had confirmed that she was not Métis but he refused to tell me who the genealogists were and refused to show me a copy of their report. As President, I should have the right to ask questions of the CEO on such matters.

Bullying and Harassment – These allegations pertain to the current CEO Daniel Fontaine and a former CEO and one other staffer

Response – In fact, the investigator states (in part) “I find that President Morin Dal Col’s conduct of pressuring Mr. Fontaine to fire staff does not amount to bullying and harassment. Although inappropriate and disconcerting to Mr. Fontaine, President Morin Dal Col did not actually force Mr. Fontaine to fire anyone or engage in any retaliatory behavior towards Mr. Fontaine for failing to terminate the employment the staff.”

With regard to the former CEO, Ms. Morin Dal Col denies that she bullied and harassed her and that the decision to release her during the probationary period was a decision made by the former Board of Directors as a whole.

Failure to post Board expenses before 2020 election – It is alleged that President Morin Dal Col instructed Mr. Fontaine not to post BOD member expenditures before the election in 2020.

Response – In fact the expenses for some Board members were not correct and I simply requested that they be corrected before they were posted. I was never provided with a corrected version.

Lack of Board input into the publication entitled “Tale of Two Nations” – The allegation is that I did not consult with Board members before it was released.

Response – In fact, I did not have any input into the document before it was released. This was an initiative of the current CEO and he was responsible for seeking input from Board members – not me.

Finally with regard to the leasing of the condo for President Morin Dal Col, this matter has been dealt with numerous times at the Board level and at annual general meetings of MNBC. A cost analysis was done before the condo was leased in November 2018 and it was determined that overall it was cheaper to lease a condo with a fixed leasing fee than paying the cost of staying at a hotel where there is no cap on the cost of the room. It was also cheaper than having the President travelling back and forth from her home on Vancouver Island. The President was required to be at the office numerous days each month fulfilling her role and duties. Per diems were claimed when appropriate because the President was away from her home in Port Alberni, and like every other Board member when fulfilling their duties, was entitled to have certain of her meal costs covered. Rehashing an old debate does not serve the interests of the MNBC or its citizens and is yet another inappropriate attempt to harm my reputation.

In conclusion, the Board requested this investigation to try and justify their decision of January 18th. It has also provided a convenient distraction from the critical issue of Métis Nation of Ontario allowing individuals to become Métis citizens who do not meet our national Métis definition, and MNBC, Métis Nation Alberta and Métis Nation Saskatchewan supporting MNO in that regard.

Ms. Morin Dal Col said, “The MNBC Board is hoping that our Citizens will forget about the MNO issue but I am going to remind Citizens about it often because I will never compromise my principles nor my beliefs in who we are as Métis people nor will I waiver in my position of protecting our Métis Nation identity”.

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For further information:

Contact President Clara Morin Dal Col

Email: cmdalcol@gmail.com