A precedent has been set for passing referenda with 50 percent plus one who voted
To the Expositor:
I am writing this letter to the editor but I am writing it also for Ogimaa Duke Peltier hoping he will do what is right and declare the Wikwemikong G’Chi-Naaknigewin Referendum of June 14 to be invalid.
In the June 11 Expositor, there is a quote by counsel Tracy O’Donnell about passing G’Chi-Naaknigewin. It says ‘we can demonstrate we have started good governance practices in Wiikwemikoong…accountability, transparency, responsiveness, equitable/inclusive, effective/efficient rule of law, participatory and consensus orientation.’ This did not happen with the referendum of June 14.
First, there was a lack of accountability and transparency because there were no referendum rules. My family has learned from the Electoral Officer that the band did not provide referendum rules to follow. The Officer looked to the Indian Act regulations that are for elections instead of regulations about referenda. Not all the processes were followed, though, because we have found out there is no appeal process. The Indian Act regulations do have a requirement that would help with fairness. This requires that the band provides a “last known address” if there is one, to the Electoral Officer for each voter. If this had happened, others and myself would not have been left out when the ballots went out on May 12. In that mailout, about 1,150 ballots went to off-reserve members. This is the number of updated addresses listed in the membership newsletter. However, there are 6,135 “eligible voters”, with probably at least 3,000 of these being off-reserve. I was directed by membership to fill out “an updated membership mailing address form” in order to vote. I turned 18 within the past two years, have been a band member all my life, was in the membership office in June 2012 to replace my lost card, and have lived at the same address for nearly 20 years! I am aware of other youths who did not get ballots but have received post secondary funding from the band, as well as having family members without ballots who worked for the band in recent years. The band needs to update its address database, especially if other offices of the band do have off reserve addresses. It is also helps accountability to make sure there is a list of returned envelopes to show contact was attempted with the “last known address.” By not having referendum rules for G’Chi-Naaknigewin, it has led to unfairness and exclusion of off reserve voters. Perhaps that’s why there was such a low voting response to the referendum, only 656 “approved ballots” out of 6,135 “eligible voters.” This is just 10.7 percent of the eligible voters, with only a small 7.7 percent of eligible voters voting yes.
Second, but very important, there was unfairness towards off-reserve voters by not giving them “informed consent” for responsiveness and inclusiveness. In a May 5 letter to band members, Ogimaa writes, “For the Wikwemikong G’Chi-Naaknigewin to become effective, it must be ratified by us through informed consent.” This informed consent did not happen for many off reserve voters. When the ballots went out on May 12, they did not include any “information package” or G’Chi-Naaknigewin. The Electoral Officer and many off-reserve members can confirm this. Many voters had no idea what the ballot was about. I have family who voted early without “informed consent” and others who did not vote because they had no clue what it was about.
There is now a precedent in Wikwemikong to pass a referendum that is based on only 50 percent plus one of “approved ballots”. This lessens the democratic process of requiring the participation of a percentage of “eligible voters.” Some will say this is because a Matrimonial Real Property Law needs to be passed before December, but that can still be done without G’Chi-Naaknigewin and can be done even after December 2014. In the government process, there is a requirement to have at least 25 percent of eligible voters participate. With G’Chi-Naaknigewin, laws can be made solely at the Council table and referenda can be passed with only 50 percent of “approved ballots”. There would be no pressing need to search out “eligible voters.” We would not really be needed to pass any law or participate in a referendum. In the G’Chi-Naaknigewin, only 10.7 percent of eligible voters participated in the voting. This process winds up limiting democratic rights and reduces responsibility of the band to be more inclusive.
As I write this, my family is submitting a written appeal to the Wikwemikong leadership, even though there are no rules for appealing the referendum process. Wikwemikong’s history includes teachings about honesty, truth, accountability and respect for others. May Ogimaa and our council do what is right and recognize the G’Chi-Naaknigewin referendum of June 14 as being invalid. At the very least, it lacked the “informed consent” that Ogimaa wrote on May 5 is a requirement for ratification. It is not too late to fix that which is wrong.
Ronnie Wakegijig Little Current
