Doucette Not Relishing Conviction Of Political Foe

Doucette Not Relishing Conviction Of Political Foe

Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 13:12

The president of the Metis Nation – Saskatchewan says he doesn’t take pleasure in a former high-ranking MN-S official being sent to jail.

However, Robert Doucette says a strong message needs to be sent that what happened during the controversial 2004 MN-S election will not be tolerated.

Doucette is reacting to last week’s guilty plea by Ralph Kennedy to electoral fraud and his subsequent one-year jail sentence.

Kennedy was part of a slate of candidates that came to power in an election that initially saw Doucette declared president.

Doucette says the courts have made it clear that elections have to be free and democratic.

He adds the conviction and sentencing also signal that all levels of government take the legitimacy of MN-S elections seriously.