Métis group cries foul over e-mail 'threat'

Last Updated: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 | 4:33 PM ET

CBC News

The Manitoba Métis Federation says an e-mail written by a Conservative candidate in Manitoba contains a threat about the implications of endorsing the Liberals during this election campaign.

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The e-mail was written by Inky Mark, the incumbent candidate in Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette, to David Chartrand, the president of the MMF.

In it, Mark expresses surprise over the MMF's endorsement of the Liberals. Mark says, "taking sides will hurt you and your organization sooner or later."

• Métis group endorses Liberals

Chartrand interprets that as a "threat" against the Métis nation, should the Conservatives form the government.

"I think firstly, that the issue has got to be, what was his intent behind it – to fearmonger me into not speaking out anymore?" he says. "Telling me I'm going to pay a price for speaking out and defending my people? That I take very strong exception to."

However, Mark says that's not the case, and he did not intend to suggest the Conservatives would penalize the MMF if their party came to power.

"I was just stating a reality. I mean, everyone knows the old phrase, 'don't bite the hand that feeds you,'" he told CBC News.

"Well, sooner or later, if you take sides – it's never in the best interests of an organization such as his that depends on government. Governments come and go. They always change."

'Friendly note?'

Mark says the e-mail was meant to be personal, "friendly note" between himself and Chartrand, and he was not speaking for the party but as one individual to another.

"I think the Métis community knows me very well, that I'm not a threatening type of person, and it was never intended to be a threat to anybody," he says.

"When it comes to Métis people and aboriginal Canadians, our party believes in respecting their constitutional rights, and we will make every effort to ensure the livelihood of aboriginals and Métis people improve. Like, we take the same approach to non-aboriginal people in this country. Our job is to make Canada a better place to live for everybody."

Mark says that by taking sides in the election, he believes MMF is violating its own constitution, which prohibits the organization from affiliating itself with a political party – a concern that has also been raised by one of the organization's own board members.

• Political endorsement irks Métis voters

Chartrand says endorsing a party is not an affiliation, and that if Mark read the constitution further, he'd find the federation has a mandate to "educate our people about the municipal, federal and municipal elections and the platforms of parties," he said.

"It's very clear I have to educate my people about those, and that's exactly what I do," he said.