METIS NA TION Of ONT ARIO Annu A l Repo R t 20122013 9 wider Metis community and embrace their heritage These facilitators play a key r ole in the exciting Mar ch br eak camps the MNO or ganizes to help pr epar e Metis high school students for postsecondar y education W e continue to sign MOUs and build partnerships with postsecondar y institutions Our most r ecent MOU was signed with Niagara College in September 2012 and like all our MOUs with other institutions it will lead to incr easing Metis participation in and access to Niagara pr ograms and ser vices engagement in joint Metis r esear ch initiatives and the pr omoting of Metis content acr oss the curriculum The Ministr y of T raining Colleges and Universities has also pr ovided support for the MNO s own job train ing pr ograms including Employment in Ener gy All these ef forts ar e opening doors for our young people and will pr ovide them with gr eat opportunities in the futur e Incr easing the Metis pr esence in the K12 system is critical as well and has been supported by the Ministr y of Education Ministr y funds have been used for delivering Metis Education Kits to teachers and volunteers These kits ar e becoming incr easingly popular and ar e constantly updated and impr oved e conomic development Another major element that needs to be in place for a str ong Metis futur e is jobs and opportunities for economic gr owth In 2011 the MNO worked closely with the Ministr y of Aboriginal Af fairs to establish the Metis V oyageur Development Fund MVDF and in August 2012 the MVDF opened its doors for business Since then the MVDF has pr ovided fnancing and r elated support to Metis entr epr eneurs with existing businesses or those looking to establish businesses in the r esour ce sector or in r esour cer elated businesses In its frst year of operation the MVDF was ver y successful with all available funds being used towar ds a mix of established and startup Metis businesses The MNO also built str ong r elationships with r esour ce companies including an MOU signed in April 2012 with Osisko Hammond Reef Gold Ltd This MOU set out the way in which the local Metis community as r ep r esented by the MNO T r eaty 3Lake of the W oodsLac SeulRainy River Rainy Lake Consultation Committee and the MNO community councils that ar e part of the committee will be consulted r egar ding the development of the Hammond Reef Gold pr oject in northwester n Ontario The MNO was ver y pleased at the 2012 AGA to r enew its MOU with Union Gas who has been a stalwart partner of the MNO for many years now In 201213 the MNO was starting to see r esults fr om the Impact and Beneft Agr eement IBA signed be tween the MNO and Detour Gold last year This was the frst agr eement of its kind between a Metis gover nment and a pr oponent anywher e in the homeland and in it Detour Gold committed to pr oviding employment and business opportunities training and education initiatives as well as fnancial participation in the Detour Lake pr oject Among the benefts alr eady accrued have been the joint MNO and Detour Gold Employment in Mining pr oject which is pr oviding Metis individuals and businesses with econo mic opportunities Aboriginal Healing and W ellness s trategy Another cor nerstone in building a str ong futur e for Metis people in Ontario is the agr eement the MNO has had for the last several years with the Aboriginal Healing and W ellness Strategy AHWS AHWS funds support the MNO s Community W ellness W orker Metis Healthy Babies Healthy Childr en and Mental Health pr ograms Metis ar e a pr oud people who have contribute to the building of this pr ovince and Canada ASETS funding will have a lasting inter generational impact p r esident l ipinski r eacts to hearing t he MMF v Canada decision