Former Metis Leader Defends MNS Election

Former Metis Leader Defends MNS Election

Friday, July 09, 2004 at 13:25

A Buffalo Narrows man that narrowly lost his bid for an area director’s seat in the recent Metis election says he still believes in the Metis electoral system.

The election has been plagued by controversy and prompted the provincial government to pull its funding to the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan.

But long-time Metis leader Philip Chartier says he has complete faith in chief electoral officer Robert McAuley, the Metis Election Commission and the appeals process.

Chartier feels McAuley has effectively refuted allegations of missing ballot boxes.

He also accepts McAuley’s explanation that it was a clerical error that led him to at first declare Robert Doucette the new president before awarding the victory to Dwayne Roth a few hours later.

Chartier is reserving his criticism for Aboriginal Affairs minister Maynard Sonntag, who he feels is punishing the MNS for the province’s failure to come up with adequate funding for the election.

Chartier also notes that Roth once ran against Premier Lorne Calvert in his home riding, and wonders if that has influenced the NDP government’s actions.