Bellegarde Back To Work Following AFN Election

Bellegarde Back To Work Following AFN Election

Friday, July 24, 2009 at 13:53

 

 

A Saskatchewan band member who almost became chief of the Assembly of First Nations is getting back to work on his home reserve.

 

Perry Bellegarde says he isn’t going to dwell on his electoral loss to Shawn Atleo at the AFN election Thursday.

 

Speaking from a band meeting in Fort Qu’Appelle this morning, Bellegarde says he’s proud of the campaign he fought and the issues he raised.

 

He also says he may try again in the future.

 

Bellegarde was forced to concede after the eighth ballot, when it became apparent that many of his supporters were leaving to catch flights to regions east of Calgary.

 

Some observers feel the outcome would have been different if the election had taken place in Ontario or Quebec, as Atleo’s supporters came mainly from British Columbia.

 

Approximately a third of all the votes in the AFN election come from British Columbia, where some bands only have 40 or 50 members. Every band in Canada gets one vote, no matter the size of the band’s population.

 

Bellegarde says the voting system may have to change in the future.

 

Bellegarde is still a councillor with the Little Black Bear First Nation, his home community.