Court clears Manitoba Métis president of wrongdoing in case launched by national body

The Manitoba Métis Federation is celebrating an Ontario Superior Court decision that found its president did not breach his fiduciary duties while serving as finance minister for the Métis National Council.

In a decision released Tuesday, Justice Loretta P. Merritt wrote that a series of transactions made under the leadership of former MNC president Clément Chartier and MMF president David Chartrand did not breach their fiduciary duties.

Merritt concluded that they acted “honestly and with a view to the best interests of the MNC and the Métis Nation.”

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The case, brought by the Métis National Council, alleged Chartrand, Chartier and former executive director Wenda Watteyne conspired to intentionally harm the MNC through the use of “secret, unauthorized and self-serving transactions” between 2019 and 2021.

The MNC alleged the actions of the former employees were meant to “destroy” the organization so that the MMF would serve as the national voice for Métis, but Merritt found that was not true.

The Métis National Council says it is “disappointed with the outcome of the case” and that it remains committed to transparency, accountability and the protection of the interests of the Métis Nation.