Saskatchewan Court of Appeal/Court of Queens Bench in Regina. Photo courtesy of Manfred Joehnck.
The election on the George Gordon First Nation took place almost a year ago, but the results are still in dispute.
Next month, the Court of Appeal is expected to decide if a lower court decision overturning the results should be upheld, or whether the band and council should be allowed to appeal.
The action was launched last year by band member, Solomon Cyr, who has been footing his own legal bill, as he continues his efforts to have the chief and council ousted. He has now launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with the legal costs.
He says this is a precedent-setting case, and he wants to give others the chance to participate.
“I think it is important for Canadians and the general public to understand our situation in order to look at the magnitude of the ramifications of what is going on here,” he said.
The election was held under the First Nations Election Act, which was passed into law in 2014.
Cyr says under the act, the current chief and council should not be allowed to continue to sit as elected representatives after a Court of Queen’s Bench overturned the election results because of voting irregularities last October.
Indigenous Affairs at first announced it would no longer recognize the Chief and council and would begin the process of organizing a new election. It later changed its position, saying it will continue to recognize the chief and council until the appeal process is complete.
Cyr says that is not what should happen in a democracy.
“It is somewhat a manipulation of the legal process,” he said. “But at the same time, because this is such a new piece of legislation, I guess everyone is going too cautious on how the act is played out in court.”
The GoFundMe campaign is called, “Legal fund to protect voting rights.”
Cyr is hoping to raise about $20,000, but says his legal costs have already exceeded that.