Election in Kanehsatà:ke cancelled at last minute
In a statement shared on the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake's Facebook page, Chief Electoral Officer Graeme Drew outlined his decision.
"Due to numerous flaws in the Custom Electoral Code resulting in an inevitably flawed election process, I met with the incumbent Council and informed them earlier today of my decision to stop this election," wrote Drew.
He noted a lack of provisions in the code "for ensuring that electors are duly informed throughout the election process."
The chief electoral officer also stated that timelines were "unworkable" and didn't allow for the proper screening of candidates and, because of that, the names of several ineligible nominees appeared on the ballots.
Drew further expressed concern over the power given to appeal board members to "vote over" all other electors when determining who will be grand chief and chief in the case of a tie, saying the method was "unacceptable."
Six chief positions and one grand chief position were set to be determined in the general election.
WATCH l Political infighting in Kanehsatà:ke leads to frustration:
Saturday's election was deemed crucial for the community, located northwest of Montreal, and seen as a way to resolve a months-long political impasse stemming from a leadership crisis within the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake.
In March, the band council's ethics commission removed Victor Bonspille from his position as grand chief by declaring his seat vacant. Bonspille, however, refused to recognize the decision and continued to attend ceremonies as grand chief.
He was hoping to be re-elected as grand chief on Saturday, with council chiefs Brant Etienne and Serge Otsi Simon, also a former grand chief, vying for the position as well.
Gleaning from past experiences, he said the process of ratifying an amended electoral code, followed by a candidate nomination period and campaigning means the community might see an election in about six months.
CBC News reached out to both the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake and the minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit for comment but had yet to hear back.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
LeBlanc says he expects Carney, Trump to talk 'over the next couple of days'
Social Sharing Dominic LeBlanc says he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will have a conversation with each other "over the next couple of days" as Canada tries to find a way out of a 35 per cent blanket tariff on exports to the U.S. "We believe there's a great deal of common ground between the United States and Canada in terms of building two strong economies that work well together," said LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, on CBS's Face The Nation. LeBlanc left Washington earlier this week without a deal, but he told host Margaret Brennan he came out of discussions "with a better understanding of the American concerns in the trading relationship…. So we're prepared to stick around and do the work needed." Few Canadian goods subject to new rate On Friday just after midnight, Canada's tariff rate rose to 35 per cent following a Trump executive order that criticized Canada's "lack of co-operation" in curbing the flow of fentanyl southward and for retaliating against Trump's existing tariffs. But only a very small number of Canadian products will actually be subjected to that rate — specifically goods not covered by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, which governs trade between the three countries. WATCH | LeBlanc insists there wasn't a good deal before Trump's Aug. 1 deadline: No trade deal with U.S. better than a bad one, LeBlanc says 2 days ago LeBlanc told Brennan that Canada was "obviously disappointed" by Trump's decision to raise the tariff rate. In a separate interview on Face The Nation, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Canada was the only country aside from China to retaliate against Trump's tariffs. "If the president is going to take an action and the Canadians retaliate, the United States needs to maintain the integrity of our action — the effectiveness — so we have to go up," Greer told Evans. Trump tariffs face legal challenge When asked whether Canada should drop its countertariffs, LeBlanc cited Ottawa's 25 per cent countertariff on U.S. steel and aluminum imports. "There's a 50 per cent tariff when we want to sell [steel] into the United States, so effectively we're blocked from doing that. But the national security interest of Canada requires we have a viable steel and aluminum sector." Trump invoked his 35 per cent levy using a law that allows the U.S. president to take emergency economic measures to "deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat" to national security. That tariff is facing a legal challenge that has now reached a federal appeals court, putting it further along in the U.S. court system than any other tariff lawsuit.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Advance voting underway in provincial byelection in Arthabaska
Electors in the provincial riding of Arthabaska are taking part in advance polling starting today ahead of a byelection on Aug. 11. Voters will be able to cast a ballot today and Monday and will have at least 10 candidates from which to chose in the hotly contested riding previously held by the governing Coalition Avenir Québec. The main fight seems to pit the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Eric Duhaime, and Parti Québécois candidate Alex Boissonneault. The Coalition is running Keven Brasseur in attempt to hold the riding, while the Opposition Quebec Liberals and Quebec solidaire are also running candidates. The byelection was triggered after the departure of Eric Lefebvre, who left the Quebec government to run federally and was elected in the April election as an MP for Richmond-Arthabaska with the Conservative Party of Canada. The riding was easily won by Lefebvre in October 2022, when he captured 51.75 per cent of votes, finishing more than 12,000 votes ahead of his closest rival.
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
LeBlanc says Trump, Carney to speak in coming days following U.S. 35% tariff announcement
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will likely talk 'over the next number of days' after the U.S. imposed a 35 per cent tariff on goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a Canadian official said on Sunday. Dominic LeBlanc, the federal cabinet minister in charge of U.S.-Canada trade, also told CBS News' 'Face the Nation' that he was 'encouraged' by recent discussions and believed a deal to bring down tariffs remained an option. 'We're encouraged by the conversations with Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer, but we're not yet where we need to go to get the deal that's in the best interest of the two economies,' LeBlanc said, referring to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The trade minister said he expected Carney and Trump to speak 'over the next number of days.' 'We think there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down some of these tariffs provide greater certainty to investment,' LeBlanc said. Washington linked Friday's tariff announcement in part to what it said was Canada's failure to stop fentanyl smuggling. It was the latest blow in a months-long tariff war which Trump initiated shortly after returning to power this year. Carney says Canada accounts for just 1 per cent of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce the volumes.
