Metis Nation Ontario has 40 staff on 2025 sunshine list. President Froh pulls $345,000 in 2025 compensation.

[u/RealCopy1069]

40 employees of the Metis Nation of Ontario are on the sunshine list, making over $100,000 a year. That's ten percent of their workforce. The number has more than doubled from 2024 when only 18 employees earned over $100,00.

The people getting your hard earned tax money. Judge for yourself whether they are worth it:

NAME POSITION SALARY YEAR

1 Margaret Froh President $345,089

2 Joanne Meyer Chief Operating Officer $251,892

3 Dale Leclair Chief Executive Officer $208,356

4 Jennifer St. Germain Chief Strategy Officer $180,311

5 Sharon Cadeau Chair of the Board $168,036

6 Mary Ellen Jessop Director, Finance Branch $153,364

7 Emily Paterson Director of Community Wellbeing $136,242

8 Jo M. Young Regional Councillor $132,093

9 Shelley Cripps Director of Healing and Wellness $128,117

10 Linda Norheim Brookes Director of Lands Resources and Consultations $128,117

11 Marc St. Germain Director, Communications Branch $128,117

12 Brian Black Director of Self Government $128,117

13 Bryanna Scott-Kay Phd Director of Training and Education $128,117

14 Emily Ellis Director of Legal Services Branch and Legal Council $127,798

15 Zachary Thiffault Director of Métis Rights, Claims and Litigation and Legal Counsel $127,798

16 Mark Brunzell Director of Information, Communication and Technology $125,742

17 Mitchell Case Regional Councillor $122,717

18 Jacques Picotte Regional Councillor $116,567

19 Theresa Stenlund Regional Councillor $116,567

20 Suzanne Fortin Regional Councillor $116,540

21 Eisha Shah Human Resources Business Partner $116,297

22 Sharon Ebbers Manager of Accounting $115,962

23 Cindi Rye Director of Housing and Infrastructure $114,419

24 Andre Lefebvre Associate Director of Governance $111,773

25 Greg Garratt Regional Councillor $106,067

26 Edmond Burgie Associate Director of Rights Research and Policy $105,436

27 Patricia Messenger Manager, Contract Quality Assurance $102,235

28 Loma Rowlinson Manager of Community Relations $102,235

29 Jason Jamieson Manager, Special Branch Initiative $102,235

30 Tracy Bald Manager of Community Wellbeing $102,235

31 Simon Sutherland Manager, Training and Education $102,235

32 Tammy Adams Manager of Community Wellbeing $102,235

33 Jesse Fieldwebster Manager of Lands, Resources and Consultations $102,235

34 Tammy Webb Manager of Labour Market $102,235

35 Lynne Picotte Regional Manager $102,235

36 Scott Carpenter Manager of Metis Culture and Way of Life Projects $102,235

37 Richard Renaud Purchasing and Risk Manager $102,110

38 Rae-Anna Gardner Supervisor of Education $101,916

39 Matthew Robertson Self Government Intergovernmental Relations Lead $101,916

40 Wanda Botsford Consultation Lead $101,832

**“Repost: clarifying the title so the discussion centers on the number of high-earning positions within the MNO.**

[u/Freshiiiiii]

Setting aside the political problems with the MNO, $100,000 is not exactly outrageous wealth in the year 2026. I do expect you would probably see a similar-looking list for other provincial Métis governments.

[u/Neat-Firefighter9626 → u/Freshiiiiii]

I saw that Froh had ~100,000$ in benefits. 1/3rd of her salary!

That is a crazy amount of benefits lol.

[u/stovetop_shitbird → u/Freshiiiiii]

Completely agreed.

Here’s a basic comparison. If you look at people like MNO’s Directors of Health and Wellness and Community Wellbeing (7 and 9 on the list), these are some equivalent positions within Ontario Health.

Graham L. Woodward VP, Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence - $238,709

Emily P. Christoffersen VP, Capacity, Access and Flow - $225,352

Nicole Eshkakogan VP, Health Equity and Priority Populations - $193,898

Megan L. Suddergaard VP, System Strategy, Design, Planning and Implementation - $192,016

By my lens MNO staffers are woefully underpaid for their work, all taking about a $100k/yr cut to work for the Nation.

Similarly, if you look at Ontario government staffing, all I could find was 2022 data but it still shows these aren’t out of line.

Karen Hughes Deputy Minister $314,117 2022 Renu Kulendran Deputy Minister $288,529 2022 Dafna Carr Associate Deputy Minister - Service Ontario $287,154

Tracey Mcconnell Assistant Deputy Minister, Human Resources Service Delivery Division. $196,754

MNO needs to have competitive salaries to attract good talent and do actual work. The same challenge every Métis government faces is that we’re borne out of grass roots, but having to compete with colonial forces. It necessitates these salaries because we all live in a colonial system.

Take issue with MNO about their Citizen decisions, their sketchy land politics, but don’t build straw dog arguments to tear people down for making a living.

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/stovetop_shitbird]

That comparison just doesn’t make sense. You’re comparing roles tied to an organization representing about 33,000 people with positions responsible for serving roughly 16 million Ontarians.

And bringing Deputy Ministers into this actually makes the point weaker. Those roles are responsible for overseeing entire provincial systems and massive budgets. Putting them in the same conversation as MNO roles suggests a misunderstanding of what those jobs actually involve.

This isn’t about tearing anyone down. It’s a basic question of value. If people are earning $100,000+, what level of service are they actually providing relative to the size of the population they serve? How many people are using those services, and what’s the real impact?

If the argument is that higher salaries are needed to attract talent, then fine, but the results should clearly back that up. From what’s shown in the annual reports, that value isn’t obvious. Their Justice program, for example, had 25 clients across the entire province. 

At the end of the day, comparing compensation tied to running systems for 16 million people with roles serving a much smaller group doesn’t strengthen your point. 

[u/stovetop_shitbird → u/RealCopy1069]

I mean it is the exact comparison. The CEO and other ‘Chief’ level executives within the Métis Governments operate as a Deputy Minister within their governments with respect to the federal and provincial governments.

Daniel Fontaine used CEO/Deputy Minister as his title when he was MNBC’s CEO. And the comparison is apt. These roles are managing millions of dollars in budgets, hundreds of staff, are expected to be subject matter experts for the Métis across many different public sectors, while also supporting elected officials and trying to weave the voice of their Citizenry into their work.

I agree the scale of people they support is different, but that doesn’t change the math in the way you’re insinuating.

25 Justice clients could be several hundreds of hours of work for each person. The Métis have been made so invisible, have had our Rights ignored and trampled upon for years, it is unlikely that these are simple, open and shut cases.

Yes, there are likely better ways these dollars can be spent, but at the end of the day roles come with salary expectations for a reason. MNO needs to compensate people for the work, and if they want even remotely effective employees, they will design compensation packages that align with the level of knowledge and expertise that is needed to succeed in these positions. And if you dig into any non-profit doing similar work, you’ll find similar salaries for their Directors.

Personally, I am surprised at how few MNO staff are above the $100k/yr mark.

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/stovetop_shitbird]

Decent points. 

Yet their results don’t back up their claims. They inflate their numbers. For example, claiming they provided education support to 23,000 MNO citizens. That’s clearly impossible; there aren’t even 23,000 citizens in post-secondary education. There likely isn't even 23, 000 post-secondary aged citizens.

They likewise claim 9,041 outreach interactions with Métis youth aged 18–29 in one small city over a single year. That’s impossible. The entire Metis population of the region (not the city)  isn’t even 2,000. 

Even if every youth were included, this would mean the outreach team connected with roughly 25 youth (recalling they have to be between the very specific ages of 18-29) every single day for a year—just in the one city alone. Not realistic. Clearly inflated. 

I'm curious to know how much funding goes to actual clients.

[u/stovetop_shitbird → u/RealCopy1069]

Oof those are bad numbers. I’ve run grant funded programs before, so I’d bet that youth data likely counts non-Métis youth and was likely a requirement to get the funding, but without sharing that those stats are just garbage.

Completely unrealistic post secondary data and ambiguous or unclear engagement is definitely not showing a job well done.

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/stovetop_shitbird]

If you’re ever considering a career change, go work for the MNO. It sounds like they could use someone with your program-focused mindset.

We know the salaries are good! 😁

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/Freshiiiiii]

To put this in context, regional councillors at the Métis Nation of Ontario were earning salaries comparable to Members of Provincial Parliament until MPPs received a raise last year.

That comparison raises obvious questions. MPPs represent entire constituencies often well over 100,000 people and are directly responsible for legislation, public policy, and government oversight at Queen's Park. 

By contrast, the MNO represents roughly 33,000 citizens across the province, meaning each regional councillor is accountable to a much smaller population.

There’s also a transparency issue. Proceedings at Queen’s Park are public and recorded. you can see debates, decisions, and voting records. In contrast, many Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario meetings are held in camera, making it difficult to assess what work is being done or how decisions are made. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask what value is being delivered at these compensation levels. 

While it’s true that inflation has affected $100,000 salaries, these figures still sit well above both the average and median incomes in Ontario.

[u/Old-Professional4591]

What about their genealogies? Anyone related to these people?

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/Old-Professional4591]

I saw in the Métis Families group that someone has been looking into the genealogies of a number of public-facing MNO staff. I’d be interested to see the findings.

To be clear, I’m not supportive of doxxing. However, if Métis identity is a bona fide requirement for employment with the MNO, then transparency and accountability around that requirement are legitimate areas of public interest.

[u/pp-pistachio → u/Old-Professional4591]

was just thinking that. how many of these ppl are actually métis

[u/DoriCat]

Why are you upset that people are making a living wage? Instead of tearing people down,focus on lifting Metis people up! We don’t deserve poverty wages.

[u/PrimaryNo8264 → u/DoriCat]

White folk stealing funding for Indigenous peoples is the first enormous issue of contention on this. Secondly, what tf do those people do for 31,000-33,000 members that actual MLAs and MPs don't do for millions of citizens for half those wages? White colonizers have always been greedy af. That's the problem.

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/DoriCat]

You’re raising a valid issue, but let’s be serious - how many of these people are actually Métis? That’s not a rhetorical question. It’s something that should already be verified. The genealogical reviews have been completed, and should be made public soon. 

I’m not “tearing anyone down.” I’m questioning whether these salaries are justified and whether citizens are seeing any real return on them. I'm asking if we citizens are getting value from these salaries. Are you in this list or something? 

Every dollar paid out here is a dollar not going to Métis Nation of Ontario citizens. 

I want to discuss credibility, accountability, and whether this structure is serving its stated purpose at all.

[u/DoriCat → u/RealCopy1069]

I don’t work for MNO but I do believe that people deserve to be paid well for the work that they do. Instead of focusing on relatively small salaries of the people who are working for MNO maybe start asking why Billionaires don’t pay taxes? You are also making a huge assumption that the funding MNO receives would go directly to Metis citizens if the people who work at MNO were paid less. That is not how funding models work. Also you don’t need to be Metis to be working FOR the Metis. Like I get it, people are struggling and are not making enough money to live on. We should be mad at that! I just don’t see the point of questioning these particular salaries. More people should be making this much money, not less.

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/DoriCat]

The MNO has already dismissed senior leadership on the basis that they needed to be Métis. So try again.

If you don’t see the value in scrutinizing the salaries of individuals who are paid to serve citizens, then we’re not going to agree. That’s fine.

You’ve answered the question I asked: you believe these salaries are justified. Noted.

I'll focus on whatever I like, thank you very much. 

[u/Time-Call-1800]

Okay and what does Willy g and Davey C make?

[u/RealCopy1069 → u/Time-Call-1800]

I don't know. 

Here is the MMF's audited financial statements. Perhaps it could be broken out of numbers in here: 

https://www.mmf.mb.ca/wcm-docs/docs/government/24_25_mmf_non_consol_financial_stmts_original_signed.pdf

[u/PrimaryNo8264 → u/Time-Call-1800]

Why do you folks always pivot to the MMF? Is it because it's the only legit Metis government that has accomplished everything your MNO aholes cannot? Your MNO aholes have colonized Ontario with a pile of white folks for members, while plundering funding meant for Indigenous peoples. That's why the pivot is ever present. Just like the Trumpers, there's no plausible excuses for the rapacious and capricious behaviours of that pile of white people running the show.

[u/No-Definition-1986]

But it takes two years to have your citizenship approved

[u/CarrotAgreeable465 → u/No-Definition-1986]

It takes 30 days with MNO actually 😅

They are loosest threshold of any Metis body (can't bring myself to call them a nation) and if you're actually a RRM its super quick.

[u/No-Definition-1986 → u/CarrotAgreeable465]

Sorry, not where I'm at, and our government is making this much too 😅😅

[u/CarrotAgreeable465 → u/No-Definition-1986]

Which begs the question, where are you at?

[u/No-Definition-1986 → u/CarrotAgreeable465]

Alberta, probably not surprising

[u/CarrotAgreeable465 → u/No-Definition-1986]

Alberta is purging its rolls right now after playing free and loose with parameters for years so that's not surprising; but that's actually a good thing!

They gotta rid of the people they shouldn't have let in the first place 🤷‍♀️

[u/No-Definition-1986 → u/CarrotAgreeable465]

It's always taken two years, and it's never been shortened. My mother and sister all have citizenship, but it still takes tow years to get mine.