Glen McCallum

On 23 April 2021, Central Urban Métis Federation Inc. (CUMFI) Métis Local 165 held a sod-turning ceremony to start construction on the Round Prairie Elders’ Lodge. Métis Nation—Saskatchewan provided $1.5 million in funding through Western Region IIa Regional Council and the Ministry of Housing as part of the Regional Housing Strategy and the Canada-Métis Nation Housing Sub-Accord.

As of 28 April 2021, there has not been a meeting of the Métis National Council Board of Governors nor General Assembly since November 2018. A meeting was to be held in April 2020 to hold an election for Métis National Council President, and Chartier had announced that he would not be seeking re-election, but the meeting was cancelled. McCallum and Poitras have refused to attend any meetings of the Métis National Council because they do not see the suspension of Métis Nation of Ontario and would not attend unless they were allowed to attend. Due to the lack of Métis National Council governance meetings, McCallum, Poitras, and Froh submitted a letter to Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett, calling on the Government of Canada to copy all communications with Métis National Council to the three governing members, to freeze all funds to Métis National Council until the governance issues are resolved, and to negotiate with the three governments on funding rather than through Métis National Council.

The changes to the Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007 and the closure of the physical office of the Registry led some people to challenge the requirement for citizenship to eligible to vote in the election. A local president and former Métis Nation—Saskatchewan president, Jim Durocher, distributed a letter to all members of the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly in which he made several questionable statements in which he challenged the resolutions and questioned the enforcement of those resolutions. On 6 January 2021, Durocher co-wrote and distributed a letter in collaboration with Métis National Council President Clément Chartier to members of the MNLA in which they quoted Métis Nation—Saskatchewan legislation to present an questionable argument as the basis of a resolution for the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly the following month, and called upon the members of the MNLA to overturn the requirement to hold citizenship to be eligible to vote in Métis Nation—Saskatchewan elections.

Following the close of the February 2021 Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, Chartier, Durocher, and fellow local presidents Darlene McKay, Gail Johnson, and Sheila Andrews, filled for an injunction to strike the requirement to hold citizenship in Métis Nation—Saskatchewan for the 2021 Métis Nation—Saskatchewan General Election. In the ruling, the judge ruled that the decisions of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan were not subject to judicial review, that the amendments to the Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007 were reasonably consistent with the Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, and that the amendments that were made were done so in procedurally fair manner.

During the 2021 Métis Nation—Saskatchewan General Election, candidates that opposed McCallum accused him of being the one responsible for the requirement for electors to have Métis Nation—Saskatchewan citizenship to be eligible to vote, accusing him of voter suppression and disenfranchising Métis in Saskatchewan, despite it being the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly that made the changes.

In February 2020, McCallum announced that Métis Nation—Saskatchewan would be contributing $750,000 to advance mapping processes that are pertinent in discussions with the Government of Canada to address outstanding Métis land claims in Saskatchewan. In his announcement, McCallum stated:

On 18 December 2020, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and Parks Canada signed an agreement to open a sub-table under the Framework Agreement for Advancing Reconciliation to discuss and explore the full range of options about the future management of the Batoche National Historic Site.

Following transfer of oversight of the Central Registry to the Provincial Métis Council, the oversight was assigned to a minister for the Central Registry. In 2020, there was a cabinet shuffle that eliminated the Minister of the Central Registry, and at the 2021 Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Citizenship Act was amended to separate the Central Registry from the political structure of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan.

On 18 March 2020, the Province of Saskatchewan declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and began implementing increasingly strict public health orders over the following weeks. On 18 April 2020, recognizing the unique challenges faced by Métis people in urban, rural, and remote communities, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan declared its own state of emergency to urge for more action and increased collaboration between all levels of government. This was especially important for remote northern communities due to the unique challenges that they face with reduced access to health resources and community supports.

On 9 September 2020, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan filled a claim against NexGen Energy Ltd. The claim argued that NexGen was in breach of its obligations under the Study Agreement the two parties had signed, including the obligation to negotiate an Impact benefit Agreement, and to ask the court to prevent NexGen from filing regulatory filings for the establishment of a uranium mine in Northern Region II.

Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and Parks Canada reached an agreement to provide free access starting 17 July 2020 to Métis Nation—Saskatchewan citizens for all Parks Canada administered locations in Saskatchewan, and the agreement will remain in effect until 31 March 20206 when it will be up for review and renewal. Métis Nation—Saskatchewan citizens will have free access to Grasslands National Park and Prince Albert National Park, as well as the National Historic Sites of Batoche, Fort Battleford, and Motherwell Homestead.

On 22 January 2020, the leadership of the Métis National Council unilaterally made the decision to suspend Métis Nation of Ontario without a resolution from the General Assembly authorizing the action. Chartier justified this decision because in the resolution the General Assembly had agreed with the suspension but had chosen probation. McCallum challenged this assertion, stating that the resolution was to allow Métis Nation of Ontario to present its full information to the General Assembly, and lamented that there were no Métis National Council meetings being scheduled that would allow this to happen.

On 15 September 2020, McCallum voluntarily went for COVID-19 testing at the drive-through testing site in Saskatoon offered by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Métis Nation—Saskatchewan had recently instituted a policy that all leadership and executive should regularly be getting tested for COVID-19 as a precaution. McCallum was asymptomatic when he went for testing, and had proactively went for testing because of the nature of his work as a public figure. According to Saskatchewan's chief medical officer, Dr Saqib Shahab, as McCallum had voluntarily went for testing, had not been in contact with anyone known to be infected, and was not symptomatic, he was not required to self-isolate following testing.

There was a Provincial Métis Council meeting to held 19–20 September 2020 at Hawood Inn in Waskesiu Lake located in Prince Albert National Park. At approximately 4:30 P.M. on 18 September 2020, McCallum was notified by health officials that he had tested positive for the SARS CoV 2 virus. Upon learning of the diagnosis, McCallum is reported to have immediately left the meeting and went directly into isolation in accordance with public health orders, and worked closely with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to minimize potential spread. The other attendees at the meeting were notified very quickly and immediately went into isolation, and the hotel closed for cleaning as a precaution.

After the COVID-19 pandemic struck Saskatchewan and both the provincial health guidelines and directives from the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Ministry of Health limited the size of gatherings and many workplaces had to close, the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Registry closed on 16 March 2020 and the staff transitioned to remote work for the duration of the pandemic.

On 16 October 2019, Métis National Council President, Clément Chartier, in collaboration with former Métis Nation—Saskatchewan President Jim Durocher and several others, filed a competing Métis land claim in Saskatoon, SK that covered a large area of Northwest Saskatchewan and Northeast Alberta, including most if not all of the 1994 North West Saskatchewan Land Claim. This land claim was not filed through the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and Métis Nation of Alberta, despite both being governing members of the Métis National Council and the recognized governing bodies of the Métis in their respective provinces.

On 27 June 2019, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, Métis Nation of Alberta, and Métis Nation of Ontario signed Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreements with The Crown that recognized the Métis inherent right of self-government and established a process by which self-government would be established.

At the April 2019 Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, a motion was passed mandating that a process of constitutional reform for the Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. This process involved broad consultations across Saskatchewan, including consultation with Métis citizens, Métis Nation Legislative Assembly members, and subject-matter experts, with the goal of updating the Constitution to better reflect the changes in Métis Nation—Saskatchewan governance and building a stronger government based on Métis values, traditions, and culture.

At the 2019 Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, a series of resolutions were passed that clarified eligibility to vote and to seek nomination for office in an election. These resolutions required that anyone wishing to vote in any Métis Nation—Saskatchewan election or wanting to seek nomination for office must be a verified citizen of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan or be in the process of obtaining their citizenship.

On 18 December 2019, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and the Government of Saskatchewan recommitted to a memorandum of understanding that had been signed 10 November 2010. This memorandum of understanding was to negotiate recognition of Métis harvesting rights in Saskatchewan. The 2010 memorandum of understanding had been suspended in 2012 due to lack of capacity in the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, but governance capacity had been rebuilt to allow the negotiations to continue.

Recognizing the inherent right and importance of education for Métis people, on 18 November 2019 the University of Saskatchewan and Métis Nation—Saskatchewan signed a memorandum of understanding to advance strategies for improving access and completion for Métis to post-secondary education and increasing the Métis presence on campus.

The matter was not brought before the court to resolve the matter until 20 December 2019. Morin argued that she had sent the emails as a threat in hopes that it would draw attention and that the Provincial Métis Council would recognize the seriousness of her frustrations. The decision from the Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan was that Morin had not unequivocally resigned and continues to be the Treasurer, but was unable to find evidence that the Provincial Métis Council had acted in bad faith. An appeal was filled by Métis Nation—Saskatchewan on 27 March 2020. As of 28 April 2021, the appeal has not been heard.

On 27 June 2019, the president sof Métis Nation of Alberta, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, and Métis Nation of Ontario signed the Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement with The Crown. Following the signing of these agreements, the three Métis governments established a series of meetings under the name Tri-Council to allow for collaboration on self-determination and self-government. The Agreements outline core governance areas of citizenship, leadership selection, and government operations, including legislation, and set out a process for negotiating on agreements for expanded jurisdiction such as health care, education, and child welfare systems.

On 9 August 2019, President Glen McCallum (Métis Nation—Saskatchewan), President Audrey Poitras (Métis Nation of Alberta), and President Margaret Froh (Métis Nation of Ontario) submitted a letter to Chartier to call a Board of Governors meeting. On 16 August 2019, Chartier responded to the letter and did not call a Board of Governors meeting, claiming that Métis Nation of Ontario was not complying with the resolution of the General Assembly that had put them on probation, and that that needed to be dealt with before a meeting would be called.

On 23 November 2019, the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to amend the Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007 to require people to hold citizenship with Métis Nation—Saskatchewan in order to be eligible to vote.

As a part of the constitutional reform process, the process of establishing a judicial tribunal was undertaken. At the 2018 General Assembly following the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, a motion was passed to start the process of establishing a judicial tribunal for Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. In the original governance structure, the Senate of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan served as the judicial arm of the government, but the judicial role of the Senate was removed in 2008. Following the motion, a process of consultations on establishing a judicial tribunal was undertaken, and a report was presented to the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly.

In 2018, the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly amended the Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007 to provide the option of, when a vacancy develops in the Executive or Provincial Métis Council, calling a by-election or suspending the need for a by-election and allowing election of a person in accordance with the Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan as an interim to remain in that office until the following election.

At the 2018 Back to Batoche festival, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Métis Nation—Saskatchewan signed a memorandum of understanding. The memorandum established a framework for the two parties to work together to promote good health and to improve wellness outcomes for Métis people.

During the 2018 Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, the Assembly was provided with a legal opinion by a lawyer present that each of the two communications did constitute Morin's resignation. The Assembly accepted the legal opinion and voted to appoint an Interim Treasurer from the Provincial Métis Council, Earl Cook, in accordance with the Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007.

At the November 2018 Métis National Council General Assembly, Chartier presented a report to the Assembly. In this report, he asserted the following:

Glen McCallum is a Métis politician. He was first elected to serve as President of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan on 27 May 2017 and was re-elected on 29 May 2021. He is from Pinehouse, Saskatchewan.

Leading up to the 2017 general election, "Métis [were] battling Métis, each in the name and for the purported good of Métis Nation – Saskatchewan," with "their genesis in political struggles to control [Métis Nation—Saskatchewan]," "factions each [claiming] the [Métis Nation—Saskatchewan] Constitution and the path of righteousness are on their side," and "[polite] words [were used to] mask less cooperative sentiments." The Hon. Mr. Justice B. Scherman, presiding over a case in 2015, noted that:

McCallum, recognizing that "A president has to work with his government in order for things to move smoothly forward and have a listening ear in planning together in regards to where we go," ran on a platform in 2017 of building good governance, effective administration, and a strong government. Following his election, in his State of the Nation address at the 2018 session of the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, McCallum said that:

The federal funding was reinstated a few days after the general election, which followed a Métis Nation Legislative Assembly and General Assembly earlier in 2017.

When federal funding was restored to Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, the Central Registry re-opened and an office was established. At the time that the Central Registry re-opened in September 2017, a total of 4,430 card numbers had been issued to citizens. As of 26 January 2021, the Central Registry had 11,628 registered eligible citizens, from a total of 17,112 applications in-progress (3,640), completed (13.528), or denied (1,153).

On 12 September 2017, the Treasurer of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, Mary Ann Morin, submitted a motion via email to the other members of Executive of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Treasurer to offer her resignation and sent communication to all Provincial Council Members later that same day stating that she had submitted her resignation, both post-dated to a Provincial Métis Council meeting to take place on 24–26 September 2017.

The Executive of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan accepted the email as her resignation the following day after receiving a legal opinion that it constituted her resignation. Morin attempted to withdraw the motion through a series of emails sent between 12 and 23 September 2017, including an email to the other Executive members on 15 September 2017 stating that she would like to withdraw her resignation if possible but would understand if it were not possible to do so. At the 23 September 2017 Provincial Métis Council meeting, the Council acknowledged that Morin's email constituted her resignation and accepted that McCallum had accepted her resignation.

On 28–29 June 2017, McCallum and Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Vice President Gerald Morin attended a meeting of the Métis National Council Priority and Planning Committee in Montreal, QC as guests. At the meeting, Métis National Council President Clément Chartier presented his Métis Nation 2020 plan:

Métis Nation of Ontario had initiated a review process of all of the citizenship files held by their registry as well as their registry's compliance with CSA Z710 standard on Métis registry operations in October 2017. However, they were unwilling to allow the Métis National Council to conduct the audit due to concerns about political interference and whether the review would be independent and objective, and instead chose an independent third party to operate their registry and conduct the audit.

The Métis Nation—Saskatchewan had lost federal funding on 1 November 2014 due to a lack of Provincial Métis Council meetings and the inability to hold a properly and duly called session of the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly. The funding, provided through a Basic Organizational Capacity agreement, was halted until the 2017 general election.

McCallum served as the area director for Northern Region III from 2012 to 2017. In 2017, McCallum was elected to be President of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. During his term as president, McCallum has advanced Métis rights and signed agreements with the Government of Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan, and various municipal governments in Saskatchewan. He has also worked with other Indigenous governments in Saskatchewan to provide programs and supports for the COVID-19 pandemic. He was successful in having government funding restored to the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan after the funding had been pulled in October 2014.

Shortly after filing the claim against NexGen Energy Ltd., Métis Nation—Saskatchewan sued the Government of Saskatchewan, claiming that the province in failing in its obligations to properly consult with Métis with respect to harvesting, land use, and commercial activities, and that the 2010 First Nation and Métis Consultation Policy Framework does not recognize assertions that Métis title to land and resources continue to exist and fails to uphold the Honour of the Crown. Métis Nation—Saskatchewan asked the court to declare that the 2010 policy is invalid and reliance on the policy allows the province to avoid its duty to consult and accommodate.

The Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007 was further amended in February 2021 by the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly to incorporate the resolutions from November 2019 and to make additional necessary changes to better align with best legislative practices and ensure that a more fair and transparent election would be held.

At the 20–21 Métis Nation Legislative Assembly, the Assembly adopted an agenda that did not include the resolutions presented by members of the Assembly. However, the Assembly did amend many parts of the Saskatchewan Métis Elections Act 2007, including finalizing some requirements from the November 2019 resolution. During the course of the debate on the resolution, the Assembly did discuss the topic of not requiring citizenship for the 2021 Métis Nation—Saskatchewan General Election and voted to continue with citizenship as a requirement to be eligible to vote.

Structuring the Central Registry of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan has presented challenges. As presented in her 2001 report, Marilyn Poitras highlighted the past difficulties of ensuring Métis citizens were accurately verified, recorded, and enumerated. The Senate of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan was originally responsible for overseeing the operations of the Central Registry, but the oversight of the Central Registry was transferred to the Provincial Métis Council in 2008.

In 1999, Building a Nation established a 10-week youth-oriented theatre production program called Circle of Voices that went on to become the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre (formerly known as the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company). This program was designed to help youth to develop their theatrical talent through story telling, providing healing through art and giving them an opportunity to tell about their struggles towards a healthy lifestyle.

In 1998, McCallum, working with Dr. Tom Hengen from the University of Saskatchewan, founded Building A Nation Family Healing Centre, Inc. in 1998, and McCallum served as president of Building A Nation and worked as a counsellor associate for 12 years. Building a Nation was a culturally sensitive and competent mental health program located in Saskatoon's west side core neighbourhood. The programs offered at Building a Nation incorporated the Medicine Wheel as a teaching tool, and provided a blend of traditional and western-based support services to the clients. The services provided were in stark contrast to many of the services provided at the time because they recognized the falsehoods of the "Indian problem" narrative and the negative impacts of cultural genocide on Indigenous people though residential schools and attempts at forced assimilation. The services provided included clinical and traditional counselling services, crisis services, personal development programs, as well as assistance programs with child custody, justice system, and social assistance in support of individuals and specific interest groups. Much of the programming was developed to use the Medicine Wheel as a teaching and assessment tool.

The matter of Métis title is an ongoing matter. On 1 March 1994, the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan filled a major land claim in the Court of Queen's Bench in Saskatoon. This land claim covered 145,000 km, and claimed ownership and jurisdiction over the lands and resources in that area, as well as compensation for being deprived of the land and resources and the destruction of the environment in the land claim area. The land claim was filed as a test case for Saskatchewan, with the goal of further land claims across Saskatchewan. In the Framework Agreement for Advancing Reconciliation, the 1994 Land Claim is explicitly stated as a priority in the negotiations between Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and the Government of Canada in the preamble.

Subsequently, the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan filed a complaint with the Law Society of Saskatchewan and asked the court to strike the competing land claim. Chartier had previously represented Métis Nation—Saskatchewan on the 1994 land claim, and the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan argued that these actions by Chartier were a direct conflict of interest by acting against their interests as his former client in violation of s.3.4-10 of the Law Society of Saskatchewan Code of Professional Conduct. President McCallum argued that "Any other person that wants to pursue another way of doing things totally, in my view, undermines our government [the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan]. If I did that with a provincial government or federal government, then I would be dealt with in a way to wake me up in regards to the rules and the laws of this country." Chartier recognized that the complaint with the law society against him might be successful. As of 28 April 2021, the matter has not been resolved.

The community where McCallum grew up, Pinehouse, had major issues with alcoholism and violence and had become a way of life. This led his brother, Leonard, to establish an addictions program called Recovery Lake. McCallum was an alcoholic, and attended Recovery Lake, helped to establish the program, and has been sober since 1988.

McCallum helped his brother, Leonard, to establish the addictions program at Recovery Lake in 1987, which is located at Muskwa Lake, 20 km west of Pinehouse. The programs at Recovery Lake were grounded in identity, culture, values, and languages, as is based on eight principles:

Glen's father attended residential school in Beauval, Saskatchewan, and lost his foot at age 12 in a threshing accident. Both of Glen's parents drank, and there was violence and poverty at home growing up. Glen's father died of alcoholism in 1987. His mother died in 2020.

Batoche is a site of historic and cultural significance to Métis. One of the communities of the Southbranch Settlement, Batoche was the site of the capital of the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan and the Exovedate governing council as part of the North-West Resistance, culminating in the Battle of Batoche on 9–12 May 1885.