Province pitches plan for holding new Metis election

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It looks like a new election for the embattled Metis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) might be just over the horizon.

The government of Saskatchewan has come up with a proposal for holding a new election that would respect the Metis organization's procedures for calling and holding elections while allowing the province to oversee the process to ensure problems that arose during the last election don't occur again.

That election, held May 26, 2004, was plagued by a number of irregularities, so many, in fact, that a review of the election conducted by former provincial chief electoral officer Keith Lampard declared the election results could not be trusted.

As a result of the election problems, both the provincial and federal governments froze funding to the MNS and refused to recognize the results of the election.

Under the proposal for holding a new election, announced by First Nations and Metis Relations Minister Maynard Sonntag on Nov. 4, a Metis elections advisory committee would be created and a chief electoral officer would be appointed to prepare for a new MNS election. That preparation would include developing a voters list.

Funding for the processes involved in calling and holding the new election would be covered by both the provincial and federal governments, but only if the MNS agrees to a series of conditions outlined by Sonntag, including agreeing to work with the advisory committee and adhering to its recommendations during the election, and agreeing to use the chief electoral officer appointed by the provincial and federal governments. The MNS would also have to initiate the processes needed to hold an election under the organization's constitution-holding a legislative assembly to call the election and a general assembly to ratify the election.

According to Sonntag, the proposal being put forward by the province was arrived at based on the findings and recommendations of a consultation panel that travelled across the province, listening to what Metis people had to say about the MNS election process. What that panel discovered is that Metis people in the province want a new election, and to have that election held in a fair and democratic manner. The province also consulted with the federal government before putting together the proposal.

"We put together the response that we hope addresses the issue of election irregularities and then sets out a process that will allow for a re-establishment of relationships," Sonntag said. "First of all, to have a fair and democratic election, and then re-establish relationships with MNS.

The proposal being put forth by the government includes some of the things the MNS has been asking for, namely that any new election would respect the existing election process as outlined in the MNS constitution, and that funding be provided to hold a legislative assembly in order to call the election.

Sonntag said the province had never ruled out providing funding for the MNS to hold its legislative assembly, but he stressed that the money being offered to do so now wouldn't be provided directly to the MNS but would flow through a third party.

"The province of Saskatchewan and the federal government in fact clearly continue to recognize the process, and we recognize the MNS. I mean, it's a very important governance structure," Sonntag said. "The piece that the province currently, and the federal government, are not recognizing is the leadership that we don't think have been duly elected to represent the MNS. And that might seem to some that that's splitting hairs, but I think it's a very important distinction to make."

The fact that the provincial government has never officially recognized the current MNS executive means that this proposal wasn't presented directly to the executive. Instead, the government held a press conference announcing the plan and faxed information on the proposal to all the MNS locals across the province and to all the candidates who ran in the lat election. Those letters indicated the government would like to receive feedback on the proposal within a couple of weeks.

What happens next will depend on the response from the MNS, Maynard Sonntag said.

"Nothing can take place if the assembly isn't called," he said. "But I think the fact that we've laid out a fairly clear process for a new election to take place and the fact that the two levels of government have gotten together and agreed to fund this, it makes it much clearer exactly how a new election can actually happen."

Attempts to reach representatives of the MNS for comment on the province's proposal were unsuccessful, but representatives of the MNS executive have been quoted as saying they are open to the idea of talking to the province.