MNS executive on board with plans for new election

A committee has been created to help pave the way for a new election for the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) and, for what may be the first time since the provincial organization's last election in May 2004, all the players involved seem to support what's being proposed.
The creation of the Independent Oversight Committee was announced jointly by the federal and provincial governments on June 30. The committee will oversee all aspects of the next MNS election to ensure the process is fair and democratic.
A number of questions have been raised about just how fair and democratic the 2004 MNS election was. After receiving numerous reports about irregularities at the polls, the province commissioned a study of the election that found that the number and scope of the irregularities was great enough to call the election results into question. Funding for the MNS from both the provincial and federal governments was frozen as a result, and a number of criminal charges were laid in connection with the way the election was run. Dwayne Roth, whose election to the position of MNS president was also mired in controversy, opted to continue to lead rather than agree to a new election, a condition that needed to be met before federal and provincial money would again flow into the organization's coffers. Under mounting pressure from within the MNS and from other Metis leaders who called for Roth to step down, he resigned in May of this year.
The new Independent Oversight Committee will establish a voters list and come up with a timeline and budget for an election, and will be involved in settling disputes during and after the election. Any recommendations coming from the committee will need to be reviewed by the Metis Nation Legislative Assembly and General Assembly before being acted upon.
The members of the Independent Oversight Committee include Metis educator and author Rita Bouvier and former RCMP superintendent Ronald George James Lamabe, a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta with many years of experience dealing with Metis issues. Rounding out the committee is Marilyn Poitras, who is no stranger to the MNS and its election controversies. A constitutional lawyer with expertise in the area of Aboriginal law, Poitras conducted a review of issues surrounding the MNS electoral process in response to problems arising during elections in 2001.
The government also announced the appointment of David Hamilton as chief electoral officer for the next MNS election. Hamilton is a former chief electoral officer for the Northwest Territories and has experience working with Aboriginal people in electoral and self-government processes.
Ray Laliberte, treasurer of the MNS, said the provincial executive supports the approach put forward by government.
"Well, I mean, as far as not having the MNS run it themselves, this is probably the second best option for us," he said. "What it does for us through the terms of reference is it allows us to use our process, our governance process. And that's why we're supportive, because it respects the Metis Nation constitution process and it has to go through our Metis Nation Legislative Assembly."
Laliberte said he has confidence in the ability of the committee members to get the job done.
"I feel confident going into this ... that it's going to be a committee that's going to work hard and they're going to come up with some strong recommendations," he said.
Nothing much has happened with the process since the June announcement due to the summer break, but Ray Laliberte expects he and interim MNS president Guy Bouvier will be meeting with the committee shortly to discuss timelines and workplans. He anticipates a new MNS election could take place in the spring or fall or 2007.
Laliberte downplayed the impact the past two years of controversy and funding freezes have had on the MNS.
"Some people that I respect have said this: 'Our spirit has been bent but not broken.' And it hasn't broken for the past 200 years, so we're not going to let the past two years get too out of hand," he said. "It's kind of maybe a bump on the road for us. And it's a learning process for us ... we're learning that jurisdictions have to work together and this is how we're doing it."
He suggested that one sticking point that has delayed the resolution of issues surrounding the last election-and which has been addressed by this latest approach-has been efforts on behalf of the MNS to ensure any process undertaken respects the Metis Nation's principles of self-government.
"We want to ensure that, regardless of what's happening in any government, that it's our government, it's our mistakes. We're learning from them. We'll correct them ourselves with co-operation with outside jurisdictions. And that's what we intend to do and that's the legacy we intend to leave as the current leadership right now because that's the legacy that our Elders have left for us."
Once the election is held, Laliberte hopes the Metis people of Saskatchewan will be able to put the events of the past couple of years behind them and come out to the polls to take part in the process.
"We encourage the Metis Nation citizens to set that aside and basically take it as a learning experience and then come out and participate. And let's put together a system that we can all respect and a system that can be put on any pedestal and checked and double-checked and it's transparent."