The chief of an Ontario First Nation says her community is caught up in bureaucratic and “paternalistic” voting rules that could leave it with a governance gap in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Valerie Richer says her Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation, near Sudbury, was moving forward with its upcoming chief and council elections before the novel coronavirus hit Canada and was waiting for Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller to approve the community’s new election process.
The nation ratified a new custom election code in January, which would allow it to decide for itself how a vote in the community takes place rather than following the election provisions in the Indian Act.