Chartrand lauds court decision as ‘victory for Red River Métis’

The president of the Manitoba Métis Federation and others have been awarded nearly $12 million in legal fees after an unfounded and unreasonable attack by the Métis National Council, a judge has ruled.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Loretta Merritt said in a 15-page decision released on Monday that she was awarding court costs of $6.02 million to MMF president David Chartrand, $1.3 million to Clement Chartier, the MNC’s former president for almost two decades, and $2.06 million to former MNC executive director Wenda Watteyne.

The judge also awarded $2.4 million in costs to several consulting firms and consultants whose reputations were damaged when they were  falsely accused by the MNC of aiding the unfounded allegations of financial impropriety.

“Mr. Chartier and president (Chartrand) have devoted their lives to advancing the interests of the Métis nation,” Merritt wrote. “Ms. Watteyne dedicated the vast majority of her career to the service of the Métis community.

“The plaintiff claimed that the (three) betrayed the Métis nation in their own self-interest. It is hard to imagine a case that would be more important to the (three)… the (three) acted honestly, in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the Métis nation, including the MNC.”

The judge also said the consultants needed to be awarded “substantial indemnity costs” because of the “unfounded allegations of wrongdoing, self-dealing and dishonesty” launched against them.

Last November, the judge dismissed the MNC’s $16-million lawsuit of allegations of financial impropriety against the three, saying she found no evidence any of them had breached their fiduciary duties.

In a statement, Chartrand called the judge’s latest decision “a victory for Red River Métis citizens.”

“There was never any foundation for this court case, nor for the funds we were forced to spend in our defence. This case wasn’t 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.”

Chartier, who is now a MMF ambassador, said he was “shocked” when he heard then-MNC president Cassidy Caron admit in court “they had no evidence to back their claims, but hoped to find it during the trial.

“President 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.”

Poitras was president of the Métis Nation of Alberta, now the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, from 1996 to 2023, while Froh is Métis Nation of Ontario president.

The MMF pulled out of the MNC in September 2021, with Métis nations in Saskatchewan and B.C. following suit in 2024. Only the Métis nations of Alberta and Ontario remain in the MNC.

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 “influenced more by their political views and interest in the outcome.”

No one with the MNC could be reached for comment.

After the lawsuit was dismissed last year, the MNC said in a statement it “brought this case forward in good faith.”

An earlier version of this story referred to Chartrand’s 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.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca