A federal court has ruled against a First Nations man suing an electoral officer for rejecting his nomination package.

Glen O’Soup of the Key First Nation alleged that Irvin Montana the Electoral Officer for the June 11, 2018 election improperly rejected his nomination as a candidate for chief.  His name did not appear on the ballot. He requested the court set aside the chief election results and order a new election.

But Justice G.G. Mitchell stated that O’Soup failed on two fronts to make his case.

While O’Soup was a nominated candidate, the court decision noted that O’Soup failed to properly submit a completed nomination package.

“I accept the evidence presented by Mr. Montana that Mr. O’Soup did not fulfill this stipulation. Consequently, all the nomination requirements were not completed prior to the closing of the nomination period, or at all,” the July 30 decision read.

“Mr. O’Soup which had been collected at the nomination meeting did not include a completed Candidate Declaration Form. Towards the bottom, this form states clearly and in bold print that it must be received by either the Electoral Officer or the Deputy Electoral Officer ‘by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, 2018’.”

O’Soup argued that Montana  talked to other candidates to remind them they had  incomplete forms, but that he was not spoken to.

Yet Mitchell rejected the claim, in that Montana had no legal duty to contact candidates.

“Respecting Mr. O’Soup’s assertions that Mr. Montana communicated with other nominees prior to the closing date for nominations but not him, I am satisfied from the evidence that Mr. Montana did so because he had been contacted by them. He did not reach out to those individuals unsolicited. Perhaps had Mr. O’Soup contacted Mr. Montana prior to the close of the nomination period, he would have discovered that Mr. Montana did not have his completed Candidate Declaration Form. However, there is no merit in Mr. O’Soup’s assertion that Mr. Montana had a moral responsibility, let alone a legal duty, to contact him prior to the close of the nomination period,” Mitchell wrote.

O’Soup was also ordered to pay $4000 in damages.