Province of Manitoba Silently Cuts Funding for Metis Nation Economic Development
March 14, 2018
Winnipeg, MB – In its 2017/2018 budget, the Province of Manitoba earmarked and then cut funding that directly contributes to the economic growth of Manitoba. More than $1 million was cut from the 17/18 budget, leaving a negative impact on the Metis Nation, its Citizens and the development of the Manitoba economy.
“The Province only communicated this information recently, and concurrently the Metis Economic Development Fund (MEDF) will be operating without a funding agreement as of April 1,” said David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Metis Federation. “This lack of communication is insulting and these cuts to our economic development initiatives are infuriating.”
The Metis Economic Development Fund an affiliate of the Manitoba Metis Federation, has been working with Metis owned and operated businesses to grow and develop their businesses. Success stories include Salisbury House, Nonsuch Brewing Co., Security Glass and more. Although the funding is included in the 2018/2019 budget, numerous obstacles have been placed in MEDF’s way and the funding is not guaranteed.
“The success stories coming out of MEDF are examples of how investments in the Metis Nation are paying off in areas like job creation and tax revenue generation,” said President Chartrand. “The Pallister government clearly does not see the importance or value of Manitoba’s 120,000 Metis Citizens and the contributions of their hard-earned dollars. This is a slap in the face of the Metis Nation and we will not forget.”
-30-
Believe in Yourself; Believe in Métis.
The Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) is the official democratic and self-governing political representative for the Métis Nation’s Manitoba Métis Community. The Manitoba Métis are Canada’s Negotiating Partner in Confederation and the Founders of the Province of Manitoba.
For media information, please contact:
Lindsay Ridgley
Director of Communications
Manitoba Metis Federation
Phone: (204) 586-8474
Cell: (204) 806-4752
E-mail: lindsay.ridgley@mmf.mb.ca
NT5
This article comes from NationTalk:
https://nationtalk.ca
The permalink for this story is:
https://nationtalk.ca/story/province-of-manitoba-silently-cuts-funding-for-metis-nation-economic-development
Comments are closed.