We have established rules to govern behaviour on this page in accordance with traditional, historic, and contemporary Métis governance and cultural practices.
1. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the freedom of expression, conscience, thought, belief, and association under Section 2, and the Constitution of the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan guarantees these same freedoms for Mé
tis people in the Preamble. However, there are things to remember about rights. The first is that these rights are not unlimited—your rights end where they begin to infringe on the rights of others, and there are things that are not considered protected speech. The second is that these rights mean that the government cannot infringe on your right to express yourself, but there is also legislation that requires employers and organizations to protect their members from unsafe and unhealthy conditions, which includes the abuse and harassment of staff and members. The Métis Nation—Saskatchewan uses Dumont Scouts at the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly to maintain order and procedure during the Assembly, and they will see to the removal of attendees who disrupt the order and procedure of the Assembly, and we wish to maintain order on this page.
2. We recognize that people are very passionate about Métis politics, and things can get very heated in discussions. On this page, you are asked to remain civil in your discussions. This includes not insulting elected officials—you are welcome to disagree with them, and challenge them on their words and actions, but ad hominem attacks and other insults are not going to be tolerated (under the Laws of St. Laurent, "Any person who shall insult the Council or a member of the Council in the public exercise of his functions shall pay a fine of three louis," and "Any person who shall be guilty of contempt of any measure of the Council or of one passed in a general assembly shall pay a fine of one louis"). In the spirit of the purpose of the Dumont Scouts and the Laws of St. Laurent, we reserve the right to ban people from this page if you do not remain civil in your discussions.
3. We will normally use a three-strike rule in discussions on this page: you will be warned two times to remain civil (and it is advisable that you apologize), and the third time you will be banned. However, we reserve the right to ban you outright with no warnings if we feel that your comment is egregious enough to warrant an immediate ban. In the spirit of the Laws of the Buffalo Hunt, which had both a form of a three strike rule for violating the Laws and a direct sanction for egregious acts without three strikes, we reserve the right on how people are banned from this page.
4. We do not want this page to become a toxic place, and we will do our best to be lenient and fair because we want freedom and openness of the discussions, and you are more than welcome (and even encouraged) to disagree with us and others, and what is happening in Local 126, the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, and the larger Métis Nation, but no one has to take bullying and abuse here. That includes in private messages that you send other people about things that they have said or posted on here. We want to encourage everyone to engage in discussion on this page. In the spirit of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia (the Provisional Government in the Red River under Louis Riel), we want to ensure that dignity and decorum is respected.
5. This is our Métis Nation, and together we guide the direction that we are taking. The reason that this page is moderated is because there are some people who tend to be bullies and trolls, and when people are being attacked or see abuse and bullying happening unchecked, it stops people from feeling like they are safe and allowed to be a part of the conversation in guiding the future of our Métis Nation. During the bison hunts, the Métis practised egalitarian principles in meeting together to decide the rules of the camp at the start of the season, in ensuring that everyone had enough food after the hunt to support themselves and their families, and special efforts were made to ensure that food was made available for those who were elders, sick, or otherwise unable to hunt for themselves. To ensure that everyone would benefit from the hunt, the Laws of the Buffalo Hunt were established to protect all members of the community, and those that committed acts that affected the community were punished. In the spirit of the Laws of the Buffalo Hunt, we wish to maintain order while ensuring that all participants are protected from those causing problems.
6. The language allowed on comments in this page will be moderated. We reserve the right to update this list and to implement new rules from time to time, and we will post about it when we do.
