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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
President of the Manitoba M\u00e9tis Federation, David Chartrand, was awarded court costs of $6.02 million after being unsuccessfully sued by the M\u00e9tis National Council last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Chartier and president (Chartrand) have devoted their lives to advancing the interests of the M\u00e9tis nation,\u201d Merritt wrote. \u201cMs. Watteyne dedicated the vast majority of her career to the service of the M\u00e9tis community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plaintiff claimed that the (three) betrayed the M\u00e9tis nation in their own self-interest. It is hard to imagine a case that would be more important to the (three)\u2026 the (three) acted honestly, in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the M\u00e9tis nation, including the MNC.\u201d<\/p>\n
The judge also said the consultants needed to be awarded \u201csubstantial indemnity costs\u201d because of the \u201cunfounded allegations of wrongdoing, self-dealing and dishonesty\u201d launched against them.<\/p>\n
Last November, the judge dismissed the MNC\u2019s $16-million lawsuit of allegations of financial impropriety against the three, saying she found no evidence any of them had breached their fiduciary duties.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Chartrand called the judge\u2019s latest decision \u201ca victory for Red River M\u00e9tis citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was never any foundation for this court case, nor for the funds we were forced to spend in our defence. This case wasn\u2019t just an attack on me or the MMF, it was an attack on the reputation of our nation, which I know citizens felt in their hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chartier, who is now a MMF ambassador, said he was \u201cshocked\u201d when he heard then-MNC president Cassidy Caron admit in court \u201cthey had no evidence to back their claims, but hoped to find it during the trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Chartrand and I devoted our lives to the advancement of our nation, yet the MNC, under Caron and guided by the direction of Audrey Poitras and Margaret Froh, filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in an attempt to destroy our reputations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Poitras was president of the M\u00e9tis Nation of Alberta, now the Otipemisiwak M\u00e9tis Government, from 1996 to 2023, while Froh is M\u00e9tis Nation of Ontario president.<\/p>\n
The MMF pulled out of the MNC in September 2021, with M\u00e9tis nations in Saskatchewan and B.C. following suit in 2024. Only the M\u00e9tis nations of Alberta and Ontario remain in the MNC.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSunday Passages<\/p>\n
Sundays<\/p>\n
Kevin Rollason\u2019s Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for Sunday Passages<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t The judge said in her decision last year that she found the evidence of Chartrand and Chartier more credible than testimony by Poitras and Froh because the latter pair were \u201cinfluenced more by their political views and interest in the outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n No one with the MNC could be reached for comment.<\/p>\n After the lawsuit was dismissed last year, the MNC said in a statement it \u201cbrought this case forward in good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n An earlier version of this story referred to Chartrand\u2019s wife, Glorian, who runs a consulting firm, as also receiving court costs. She was not one of the consultants who was a defendant in the case and she will receive no funds.<\/p>\n kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Kevin Rollason Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until\u00a01988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press\u2019s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
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