METIS NA TION Of ONT ARIO Annu A l Repo R t 20122013 37 m e TI s na TI on of o n T ar I o C H ar T ered Commun ITY Coun CI ls M etis Nation of Ontario MNO citizens volunteer thousands of hours ever y year to support the work of Charter ed MNO Community Councils MNO community councils do ever ything fr om hosting fsh fries to engaging pr oponents in Duty to Consult meetings Composed entir ely of volunteers the members of MNO community councils play a crucial r ole in the fght for Metis rights and in pr omoting Metis cultur e and traditions t he structur e of M no Charter ed Community Councils The MNO fulflls the inher ent right to selfgover nment for Metis in Ontario by r epr esenting and advocating for the distinct inter ests of Metis in the pr ovince The overar ching goals and aspirations of the MNO ar e articu lated in The Statement of Prime Purpose These values and principles ar e fundamental building blocks and they guide the MNO s gover nance and decisionmaking systems MNO citizens ar e r epr esented at the local level thr ough MNO Charter ed Community Councils The MNO community councils support the push towar d selfgover nment and ar e important communication hubs for the MNO citizens MNO community councils facilitate community empowerment for Metis citizens living within geographic boundaries specifed for each council by its MNO Charter Community councils operate in accor dance with MNO Charter Agr eements The agr eements give councils the mandate to gover n while ensuring accountability transpar ency and consistency The MNO Charter Agr ee ments along with the Community Code and the Community Electoral Code ar e the policy documents that guide MNO community councils when holding mandator y elections These documents also ser ve as a r esour ce to MNO community councils because they outline the rules and r egulations for conducting council business and for ensuring accountab ility thr ough good fscal management As part of the MNO MNO community councils help pr ovide ef fective selfgover nment and economic de velopment for Metis in Ontario Gov E rn A nc E a scene fr om one of t he m et is Community f est ivals held in t he summer and fal l of 2012 mno Grand r iver m et is Council part icipated in a r estorat ion work day at t he Glenor chy Conservat ion a r ea in t he fal l of 2012