NNSL (DEC 16/96) - Rae-Edzo's Metis local has abandoned the NWT Metis Nation for a "faster train," according to its president, Sholto Douglas.

Earlier this month at the local's annual general assembly, members voted to sever all ties with the Metis Nation, a move Douglas said had been a long time coming.

"But this doesn't mean that down the road we won't work alongside the Metis Nation," Douglas said at a press conference last Monday.

He said the biggest problem his organization has with the Metis Nation is that regional and community-specific issues are often put on the backburner or not addressed at all because of a difficulty in holding meetings.

"Many meetings -- especially tele-conferences -- are cancelled, and things can't move ahead, they get bogged down," he said.

In a move that he calls "stream-lining," his organization has linked up with Yellowknife's Metis Council and Metis Local 66 to form the North Slave Metis Alliance.

The alliance, officially launched last Monday, intends to negotiate agreements with the territorial government and businesses that wish to develop the land or resources in the North Slave Region.

"The formation of the alliance marks a new beginning for the Metis peoples of North Slave. We're moving ahead now as fast as we can," Douglas said.