Election 2010: Candidate Godon!

Good Day Readers:

It's wise of Mr. Godon to declare his candidacy for the Manitoba Metis Federation Presidency early and his team to set up interactive systems such as a http://metisonline.ca, a Facebook Page accessible from his Blog (http://facebook.com/pages/Frank-Godon-for-Manitoba -Metis-Federation-President/224977476718#), YouTube and, hopefully, a Twitter account to begin taking the message directly to voters. Such an approach will allow for real time input some of which will undoubtedly be usful in shaping his policy platform as countdown to Election 2010 continues.

The link "Meet the Team" on his site has yet to be activated which, hopefully, will happen shortly. To date, the only person identified is Darcey Jerome formerly of www.dustmybroom.com fame.

The other declared candidate is Derryl Sanderson seeking Board of Director, Winnipeg Regional Office. He too has a Blog (www.derrylsanderson.blogspot.com) and Facebook Page (http://www. facebook.com/derrylsanderson).

We'd like to briefly comment on Candidate Godon's platform as it currently stands:

I. National Identification Cards will also serve to strengthen the MMF's notoriously unreliable "official" voters list not in time for the 2010 election but beyond. According to a report which appeared on www.derrylsanderson.blogspot a few months ago, the Federation has started a program of require every menber to submit the results of a genealogy search. Problem is, it won't be completed until 2012. Question. Could each current Provincial Board of Director pass the test?

II. If Metis citizens of Manitoba, or anywhere else for that matter, wish to be considered a Nation they will require the same standards of transparency and accountability as a provincial or the federal government. CyberSmokeBlog fully endorses a third-party independent audit of MMF finances over the past 5 years with the unedited results being made public.

III. If the Louis Riel Institute is not achieving its potential it should be changed so it does.

IV. The Manitoba Court of Appeal has heard the Manitoba Metis land claims case and has yet to hand down its written decision. If rejected in large part of all, what is Candidate Godon's position? Does he favour applying to the Supreme Court of Canada for a final review?

CyberSmokeSignals supports payments to Veterans and Residential School Survivors subject, of course, to being able to prove their claims.

V. Like the American Presidency CyberSmokeBlog endoses a maximum two consecutive term for the position of President, Manitoba Metis Federation.

VI. CyberSmokeBlog agrees with the Candidate's proposal for two-year salaried positions for Provincial Board of Directors. Since each of the 7 MMF Regions have their own internal Boards seven should be sufficient to cover the province. Look at the numbers. Currently there are 23 Federation Provincial Directors. By way of comparison, we have 38 federal Cabinet Ministers and 19 for the entire provincial government. If Premier Selinger can govern all of us with only 19, surely the Manitoba Metis Federation doesn't need 23!

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
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The Announcement

And so it begins – It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but I’ve fallen in line with a group of Metis patriots and can no longer stand by and watch as our leaders take us down the paths of servitude - a condition in which one lacks liberty especially to determine one's course of action or way of life – and unaccountability to the people. President Reagan once said: “To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last--but eat you he will.” I can no longer sit back hoping someone will “make things right.” So with this in mind, I’ve decided to run for the president’s position in the next MMF election that according to the constitution should be held no later than September of 2010.

It is no secret that I have been vocal concerning Metis politics here on the internet at various websites and blogs. So I figured what better place to announce my candidacy then on a website. This is not about me as the “person” who is going to make things better for the Metis people of Manitoba. This is about a group of grassroots people who are tired of the same old practices that our leaders engage in once they take power. A group that has gotten together mainly through the internet and have spoken against this misuse of power. I have the credentials to run for president and when the idea was presented to me, I thought why not. As the months go by until this election is called, I will be listening to you the Metis people of Manitoba. The Metisonline.ca group will have a forum for you to tell us what you want to see in leadership.

Here are the main points of my platform.

I. The first issue we will deal with is the “Membership issue.” We believe that the Metis people of Canada deserve more respect than is shown by current levels of government – the MMF included. So we are going to respectfully demand a meeting with the federal government to secure for the Metis people a National Identification Card. This will be based upon our current process for determining who a Metis person is, but will have a national credential to it. Membership! Sounds like something you use at a golf course or co-op store. The time has come for the government to live up to the constitution that says the Metis are one of the three who make up the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Our First Nations cousins can use their treaty cards across Canada – we demand the same for the Metis.

II. The next important issue is transparency of how the MMF does business. We propose that every six months monies paid to the President, Vice Presidents, Board of Directors, and anyone who draws money from the MMF (except for workers) be posted on the MMF website. I recently saw what the Metis leaders in BC have done in disclosing what they make as far as wages and making their expenses available to anyone who wants to look and thought this is what our provincial Metis government needs to do as well. Also in line with transparency we want an internal audit of the Federation done from the last 5 years to account for where taxpayer’s monies have gone.

III. Education – we have what is known as an educational institution called the “Louis Riel Institute” but it's not functioning at what it could be. As an instructor in one of the largest universities in Russia I see a lot of potential in taking our LRI into a functioning university. A place where not only our Metis students can come to learn but other Canadians as well.

IV. Settlements – Land claims, Veterans, Residential schools, etc. We feel that this is the old merry-go-round that the government loves to keep us in. They give us money to pay lawyers to fight their lawyers to settle something that is rightfully ours. And our current leaders grab this hook, line and sinker. Common sense tells us this is a wrongful misuse of taxpayer’s monies and something needs to be done about it. On issues such as Veterans and Residential school survivors – if they deserve it they need to be paid.

V. Presidential term – we believe that the constitution should be changed to a set date of elections every four years and the President can only sit for 2 consecutive terms should they win a second term.

VI. Board of Directors – we believe that the Board of Directors position should be a paid position and that their terms should be only two years – there are some who have suggested that the number of BoD’s be reduced to one per region – I am currently thinking this one over and it does sound appealing to me.

This is just a start of my (our) platform and as time goes on I will explain more in depth and I welcome any questions or suggestions anyone may have.

Please continue to visit this site and also join us on Facebook to receive current videos which will address current situations as they develop.

I would like to share with you this quote: “The path of life is strewn with the bones of those who failed to change” and “It is in changing that we find purpose.” Now is time for a change.

A special message for those out there who don’t bother to vote come election time – If there is something wrong, those with the ability to take action have the duty to take action. You have the right to vote for the next president of the MMF – exercise that right – and vote for me.