From left to right: Rob Louie (President of BMAAAC), Kathy Masuskapoe, Evander Masuskapoe (Vice-President of BMAAAC)
Masuskapoe also claims Electoral Officer, Burke Ratte, did not follow a number of provisions of the First Nation’s Election Act. One example she provides is a claim her scrutineer was forced to leave for being disruptive. He would be allowed back into the building, but during the time he was away, voting was allowed to take place. Masuskapoe explained her scrutineer merely requested photographic proof that the ballot boxes were empty, prior to people voting.
“We didn’t get that picture. We had no transparency and accountability,” she said.
A First Nations man has started Canada’s first non-profit dedicated to providing legal assistance to band members who want to hold their chief and council accountable.
Supreme Court of Canada decision validates the existence of “extinct” Sinixt peoples
SHARE ON: Rick Desautel (centre) celebrates with friends and family outside the Nelson courthouse after a judge ruled the Sinixt have a right to hunt in BC. (Greg Nesteroff photo, 2017)
In a landmark Supreme Court of Canada case, a majority agreed that moving to live in the American part of their ancestral territory did not prevent the Lakes Tribe from being a successor group to the Sinixt.
As such, they found that the Lakes Tribe could be considered part of the “Aboriginal peoples of Canada” under section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
Federal Court to decide whether N W T First Nation had right to postpone elections during COVID-19 cbc.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cbc.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Man taking nation to court again, after election nomination for chief dismissed due to alleged debt
March 15, 2021
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The man who initiated court action against Acho Dene Koe First Nation (ADKFN) in the Northwest Territories because of delayed elections has had his nomination for chief dismissed.
Floyd Bertrand (Submitted photo)
Former chief Floyd Bertrand has now initiated a second court action so he can be included on the April 26 ballot.
Bertrand is being told that a debt owing of $27,551 from 2005 makes him ineligible to run, according to the First Nation’s custom election code.
“Other than a spread sheet and a PDF, we have seen no documents to substantiate this alleged debt. We are therefore, again, having to go to federal court,” said Bertrand’s legal counsel Orlagh O’Kelly of Field Law.