Liard First Nation Executive Council Office P.O. Box 328 Watson Lake, YT YOA 1C0 Phone: 867.536.7901 Fax: 867.536.7910 Email: ea@liardfirstnation.cafirstnation.ca
To LFN Members,
It was brought to our attention on Tuesday that the outgoing LFN Election Committee has called a special meeting to appoint the new Election Committee and that this meeting is being held this Saturday at the WL Recreation Centre at noon.
Council wants all members to be aware of this important meeting and we hope as many members as possible will attend.
The selection of the Election Committee would normally occur at the Annual General Assembly, which has been delayed this year as we work to complete the 2019 audit.
Audit issues continue to be a struggle in this period after getting out of 3rd party management, as questions remain about the decisions of that 3rd party manger.
Council wishes to congratulate the ouging election committee for understanding and fulfilling their duty in LFN’s democratic process under section 9(7) of the Election Regulations.
However, the LFN Council would like to register our concern that four days is an extremely short notice period for our members which will negatively affect the appropriate participation.
We look forward to receiving information about this meeting regarding rules of order, who will the meeting, quorum expectations, voting procedures.
For your information the Election Committee has significant legal responsibilities under the LFN Election Regulations, including:
- (a) to exercise general responsibility for the administration of the election;
- (b) to appoint the Chief Returning Officer to administer the election;
- (c) to maintain the integrity of the election;
- (d) to direct the Chief Returning Officer to implement changes in policies or practices concerning the conduct of an election as expressed in a motion form a General Assembly and within the spirit of these Regulations;
- (e) to prepare and implement a public education plan;
- (f) to announce the official results of the election; and
- (g) to deliver election records to the Chief and Council for the Liard First Nation archives.
The Election Committee must also oversee the choosing of the next Election Committee at the special meeting by all of the LFN citizens present under 9(1) and 9(7) of the Election Regulations and in strict accordance with those regulations.
The realty is, the Election Regulations do not adequately provide details on Notice for a special meeting or on many other significant matters.
For this and other reasons, amendments to our election law are necessary. We need to set an election date that cannot be changed by any future Council. We need to provide more detail to guide the Elections Committee in its important work.
Council intends to propose amendments to the Election Regulations at our AGA – as was directed by the last general assembly. At this time Council will present the audit as well.
For those of our members who care deeply about good government and protecting our lands, we strongly encourage you to attend this meeting on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 12 noon – and nominate and elect good people of honour integrity to guide our next election.
If you need a rise, please contact the band office at 867-536-5200.
Shṓwe sénláʼ
