Metis lawyer sues RCMP for false sexual assault charges

A Métis lawyer not guilty of sexual assault alleges he was the victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) during an election and is suing the MNA and RCMP for $10 million.

Dwayne Roth, former CEO of Fort McKay Métis Group, was charged over an alleged sexual assault occured in Lac La Biche County. The charges were dropped in June.

The allegations were made when Ron Quintal, who was president of Fort McKay Métis at the time, was running against current MNA president Audrey Poitras. Roth was a supporter of Quintal, who finished second to Poitras in a Sept. 2018 election. Roth accuses Poitras and several other MNA members of fabricating the sexual assault allegations “to cause direct damage to the Plaintiff and by extension, indirect damage to the Family Plaintiffs.”

Quintal and six other Métis communities left the MNA in 2020 to form an opposing the group, the Alberta Métis Federation. The two groups disagreed over how Métis communities should conduct consultation or collaborate with each other. Roth is also aligned politically with Métis opponents of Poitras and the MNA.

“I need to be compensated for the severe harm this has caused,” Roth said in a Wednesday interview. “It affected every part of my life. … I was never found guilty, but the court of public opinion said otherwise.”

The MNA said it would respond to the allegations soon. “The Metis Nation of Alberta (MNA) has only been made aware of the lawsuit today and will be reviewing it with its legal counsel prior to offering any comments or statement,” said a brief statement from the organization.