Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - January 22, 2025 - Former Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) president Audrey Poitras testified in Ontario court about the impact of disagreement between provincial organizations on the Métis Nation Council (MNC).

The MNC is suing former administration members for conspiring to harm it and empower the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF).

MMF denies the allegations, calling the case a baseless and defamatory vendetta.

Poitras testified that the MNC was guided by the board of governors and the general assembly before November 2018, but this changed when then-MNC president Clément Chartier and vice-president David Chartrand started making decisions without the board's input.

Chartrand's resolution to suspend MNO in November 2018 was challenged in court, and a judge ruled in 2021 that MNO was not suspended.

Poitras also mentioned concerns over MNC finances, including irregularities in the financial information presented by Chartrand in his position as MNC finance minister.

She called for the federal government to direct funding to provincial organizations and not the MNC.

Cohen presented numerous contracts to the court, which Chartrand signed on behalf of the MNC.

Poitras repeatedly told the court that Chartrand was unable to make binding agreements on behalf of the MNC and that could only be done by the board of governors.