Officials scramble to sign up voters

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An Elections Canada office in southern Alberta is scrambling to sign up Blood voters for the Oct. 26 referendum after a band government decision to bar enumerators from the reserve.

"We've sort of complied with their wishes. I hope it will suffice," said Arlene Albiez, Elections Canada's chief returning officer in Lethbridge, which is responsible for compiling the voting list for the 7,000 member reserve.

Since chief Roy Fox imposed the ban, the elections office has managed to sign up about 500 of a potential 3,700 voters through telephone calls, newspaper ads and visits to the office in the nearby town of Cardston.

Albiez said the number has the potential to double on referendum day under an election law that allows a registered rural voter to vouch for one other individual at the poll.

"Hopefully, we've got the message out," she said.

The number of inquiries from the reserve has slowed in recent days.

Fox has been a long-standing opponent of the Native provisions in the Charlottetown accord.

In a full-page Globe and Mail advertisement, Fox called the unity package an "attempt to change the very nature of sacred treaties."

Earlier this month, Elections Canada identified 17 Alberta bands that are refusing to participate in the referendum.

Those numbers include Sawridge chief Walter Twinn, who was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to help pass the GST legislation.

But Fox's actions have earned criticism from dissident band members who have

set up a protest camp to challenge his leadership.

"A lot of us are concerned that he's said No on our behalf, said spokesman Joe Scout.

The federal Referendum Act does not give authority to the chief to make voting difficult, he added.

"This violates our constitutional right."