The Métis National Council has retreated from a Jan. 6 announcement that its troubled president Gerald Morin would be returning to his duties and has asked for his resignation.
The MNC board of governors reached the decision after it learned the details of a Dec. 11. incident in which Morin allegedly assaulted a woman in his Ottawa hotel and was formally charged with assault and criminal mischief.
“The Board of Governors will not condone, in any way, any violence by its leadership and has a zero tolerance for any violence against women in our communities and within society as a whole,” said a statement by the board Dec. 8.
“Unfortunately, by his actions Mr. Morin has lost the confidence of the leadership of the Métis Nation. Therefore, the Board of Governors felt that under the circumstances there was no option but to ask for his resignation.”
Morin has refused to resign, but has been temporarily replaced by Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta. A special meeting of the MNC must now be scheduled to review the Morin affair and how the organization plans to proceed.
“I understand that alcohol has become a destructive factor in my life and this incident is the final warning sign for me to deal with the problem,” said Morin in a December press release following the incident.
