14 METIS NA TION Of ONT ARIO Annu A l Repo R t 20122013 Financial accountability and management Also critical to the futur e will be the MNO s ability to continue managing its fnancial af fairs as a competent and r esponsible gover nment When I accepted the position of pr esident one particularly important commit ment in our agenda was to str engthen the MNO s fnancial management administration and accountability Although this has pr oven to be the most challenging of all the commitments I am pleased to r eport that in the past year we have continue to make signifcant headway in getting MNO s fnancial house in or der While we have r eceived accolades and acknowledgement fr om most of our funders for these dramatic impr ovements we must continue to demonstrate r eal ef fort and diligence on this fr ont as both ar e critical to ensuring the MNO r emain str ong for the futur e Challenges ahead The list of highlights I have pr ovided can leave no doubt that the MNO had a busy and successful year These successes ar e in no small way owed to the contributions of our citizens W e take ever y opportunity to r emind all levels of gover nment and other funders of the contributions of our volunteers These women men young people and elders ar e called on mor e often than those of any other Aboriginal gr oup to support the work of advancing Metis rights and something has to be done to compensate them for their many contributions On a personal note I think it is appr opriate as this is our 20 th anniversar y to thank and acknowledge the MNO s founders and all the individuals who have ser ved on the PCMNO MNO Charter ed Community Councils and in other leadership positions over the last 20 years Nothing that took place in the last year let alone the last 20 could have been achieved without their selfess dedication and vision Futur e generations owe a tr emendous debt to these amazing men and women Following in the footsteps of our founders and early leaders we will continue to move for war d with our work as guided by The Statement of Prime Purpose and dir ected by MNO citizens at ever y AGA W ith ever incr eas ing attention fr om gover nments at all levels industr y pr oponents and the public ther e may never be a better opportunity to capitalize on the gains made to date W e aspir e to attain our highest potential is a worthy goal and I challenge all MNO citizens to embrace it So this AGA enjoy the Metis music dance and stor ytelling knowing that you ar e the heart and soul of this Nation and your participation and your voice is critical to our continued success Thank you to all of you for making time in your busy schedules to be her e Thank you to the MNO Region Six community councils and the Delta Ottawa City Centr e Hotel for hosting the 2012 AGA These assemblies would not be possible without the support of dedicated volunteers MNO staf f and our sponsors I look for war d to a pr oductive assembly and working with all of you for many years to come in or der to ensur e that our Nation continues to gr ow and pr osper Thank you Marsi Megwetch Gar y Lipinski Pr esident Metis Nation of Ontario mno p r esident l ipinski met wit h t he Hon e ric Hoskins who at t he t ime was m inister of Childr en and Y out h s ervices on m ar ch 21 2012 p r esident l ipinski wit h his wife d iane viewing m et is exhibit ion in t he f ort f rances m useum