Corbiere urban aboriginals off reserve elections

Focus on
Urban Aboriginal Issues

The Corbiere Decision

©Turtle Island Native Network

Batchewana First Nation chief Vern Syrette was re-elected despite a deliberate challenge from John Corbiere and his push for off-reserve voting. Corbiere who led the fight that resulted in the highly acclaimed Supreme Court of Canada Corbiere decision, placed second in the voting for chief.

Urban Indians got their voice heard in a Manitoba Band election. Ebb and Flow First Nation chief Ralph Beaulieu was re-elected in the first election in Canada involving off-reserve Indians under new election regulations. 155 mail-in votes apparently had little impact on the election results according to the band manager. It might turn out to be a different story in Ontario when they vote December 11th at Batchewana, the community where the election rules issue surfaced and resulted in the Supreme Court of Canada decision supporting off reserve voting rights. John Corbiere who helped launch the court challenge is running in the Batchewana election.

Assembly of First Nations expresses disappointment that high court will not reconsider deadline for new voting rights. AFN National Chief Coon Come says new flurry of legal actions possible.

Supreme Court of Canada refuses to reopen controversial Corbiere case. New voting regulations for urban Indians will stand.

October 2000 - New Voting Rights for First Nations Members. That's the header of the full spread ads the Government of Canada has placed in newspapers across the country, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. The ads come hot on the heels of a warning from the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations that this issue of voting rights for off-reserve Indians is a ticking time-bomb. Matthew Coon Come has warned the government that First Nation communities are not equipped to deal with the election regulation changes, created in response to the Supreme Court of Canada's Corbiere decision. The newspaper ads point out that as of November 20th if you are a First Nation member regardless of whether you live on or off reserve, 18 years of age or older, you will have the right to vote in indian Act elections and referendums held by your First Nation.

September 2000 - The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations AFN says that First Nations have not been properly equipped to deal with the impacts of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Corbiere decision. That decision states that after November 20, 2000, First Nations' citizens living off the reserve will be able to vote in elections.First Nations have not been given adequate information or resources to implement the new election regimes that will be in force after November 20, stated National Chief Matthew Coon Come. We are suggesting that First Nations turn the problem back to its originator - the federal government. On September 2, 2000, the federal government published new regulations changing how elections for band council and referenda are conducted. An AFN technical working group, consisting of policy and legal advisors appointed by AFN Regional Vice-Chiefs, advised the AFN Executive that First Nations could face law suits and potential liabilities as a result of the federal government's flawed handling of this matter.The Corbiere decision handed down by the Supreme Court in May 1999 is a ticking time bomb for First Nations, said National Chief Coon Come. The federal government created the problem through its own legislation, but is doing little to assist First Nations in dealing with the decision. First Nations need a lot more in the way of information, and human, financial and technical resources to deal with it.

June 2000 - The Assembly of First Nations wants the Supreme Court of Canada to provide more time for First Nations to incorporate citizens living off-reserve in their elections. Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, announced that the AFN is seeking intervener status to support an application for the extension of the 18-month time-frame to implement the Supreme Court of Canada’s Corbiere decision.That decision, handed down in May 1999, states that First Nations operating Indian Act elections must allow members living off-reserve to vote.The Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council in Alberta has already filed a motion for an extension of time.Our focus in seeking to extend the time-frame of Corbiere is so that it can be implemented in a responsible manner for both on reserve and off reserve residents. The Court thought 18 months would be enough, and it might have been if the government had started working on this immediately. But they didn’t and they have ignored the Court’s direction that any new plan be put in place only after full consultation with First Nations. The decision is slated to take effect November 20, 2000.

This is Turtle Island Native Network ...Your Aboriginal News and Information Network.

News and Information

More on Urban Aboriginals