MOU strengthens partnership between Cambrian, Métis

Cambrian College has become the 12th post-secondary institution in the province to recognize and address the needs of Métis, and to agree to work in partnership to ensure that programming offered at the college addresses those needs.

Cambrian signed on May 14 a Memorandum of Understanding with the Métis Nation of Ontario to provide a strong framework for meeting the specific needs of Métis people through education and training, applied research, scholarships and bursaries, and recruitment and retention tactics, said Cambrian president Bill Best.

“The MOU is a chance for us to publicly affirm the recognition of Métis culture, and that we're a welcoming place where we will work together to see our students successful,” Best said. “Cambrian has a real history of working with its diverse cultures. This isn't the start of a process, but the formal acknowledgement of what we have been doing, and more importantly, what we will do going forward.”

There are currently 109 self-identified Métis students at Cambrian College, which is up from about the low 30s last year, said Rick Ouellet, director of the Wabnode Institute at Cambrian.

“We figure that's about half of the Métis students enrolled at Cambrian College, and through our self-identification campaign, one of our goals this year is to get up to 200 students.”

The MOU strengthens and formalizes the long-standing positive working relationship between MNO and Cambrian College and establishes several key areas for collaboration and partnership including joint commitments aimed at:

-improving Métis post-secondary and education and training outcomes;

-working collaboratively to establish partnerships around ongoing skills development and training;

-identifying ways to increase college recruitment, retention and graduation rates for Métis students;

-increasing Métis participation in and access to current and future Cambrian College programs and services.

The MOU with Cambrian College is part of a larger relationship building process of bilateral partnerships with post-secondary institutions that includes an MOU signed between the MNO and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

“This MOU is a significant achievement for the Métis people in Ontario, because it demonstrates a commitment to forge a lasting relationship between post-secondary institutions and the MNO,” said MNO chair France Picotte. “The agreement with Cambrian College also builds on the MNO-Ontario Framework Agreement, which the province renewed in 2014, for another five years.”

“We need to take the time to get to know people, and through those relationships, we'll find even more opportunities to help students,” said Best. “When all is said and done, that's why we're here – to help students, and make it more comfortable for them to be successful.”