Métis group’s cancer research donation shows ‘reconciliation is a two-way street’: MMF president
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/09/2019 (2222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A “historic” $1 million donation from the Manitoba Metis Federation is expected to expedite testing for Manitobans with cancer.
“There’s many Métis families, many Manitobans, losing loved ones, facing hardships,” said MMF president David Chartrand.
“We, as a Métis government, want to do our part. This is not just for Métis, this is for all Manitoba; I think we have a responsibility to take care of our province, we have a beautiful province, we have to step up and what we can do to help.”
CancerCare Manitoba Foundation president Annitta Stenning said it’s the largest donation from a Manitoba Indigenous group.
“We all need to be in this together; when we think of the numbers: one in two people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime,” Stenning said.
“This kind of investment, they’re making an investment specifically in next-(generation) sequencing, genetic testing. It is bringing testing home to Manitobans, that right now we now have to send out of province. It means a delay in getting life-saving information back so they can start their treatment,” Stenning said.
The funding will allow for immediate improvements in testing for current patients and will also support research into testing, she said. She said conducting tests on cancer patients locally will help them get results faster.
“We all know what a delay can mean when you have cancer, it can mean it’s too late,” Chartrand said. “We’ve got to find solutions. If the governments aren’t going to fund them, we’ve got to find new ways.”
The donation follows from several years of MMF fundraisers for CancerCare. Chartrand said he and MMF’s council wondered if they could do more — so they did. It was a unanimous vote from MMF council.
“Reconciliation is a two-way street,” Chartrand said. As the Métis prosper, he said the MMF will continue to invest in the province.
“If a million dollars is what’s going to save some lives, I’m very proud we can do that,” Chatrand said. “If we have to raise more money in the future and put more in, that’s something I”ll talk to Anita and CancerCare about.”
Chartrand made the announcement as part of his opening remarks at the MMF’s Annual General Assembly, which began Saturday and continues Sunday.
Stenning called Saturday’s donation “historic.”
“It really is a moment in time that we have to remember and celebrate,” she said.
tvanderhart@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @tessavanderhart