Ombudsman Asked to Probe Metis Election

Ombudsman Asked to Probe Metis Election

Monday, July 12, 2004 at 13:17

A Loon Lake man is asking the provincial ombudsman to look into whether he was unfairly denied the right to run in the recent Metis election.

Alex Morin filed papers with the Metis Election Commission stating his intent to run for area director in Western Region I, but his lawyer, Donna Driedger, says he was told he was unable to run.

Driedger says no reasons were given. She also notes that Morin was allowed to run in the two previous elections.

Driedger admits it’s unusual to forward this type of complaint to the provincial ombudsman, which typically handles complaints regarding government agencies and departments.

However, Driedger believes the Metis Act passed in the legislature in 2002 might have cleared the way for this type of appeal with the creation of the Metis Secretariat.