TO: Lennox Island First nation Members
From: Chief and Council
Date: January 28, 2003
Re: Election Code

During the review and amendment process for the Lennox Island Custom Election code in 2000/2001 there were major changes made to the code. As you know, the most significant of these changes was the inclusion of all Band Members (on and off reserve) as eligable voters and the creation of a new Council seat for an off reserve Band member. At this time of the review, there were other important issues considered by the council for possible amendment. However a decision was made to consider these possible changes that might take away from the issue of including our off reserve members voters.

The council has considered these issues and now wishes to bring to you in an amendment vote.

1. Extension of the Term of Office for Chief and Council.

The current term for Chief is three years and two years for Councillors. The Council will be proposing that the term of office for Chief and Council be extended for four years. There are several reasons for this proposed change.

First, with the last amendments to our Code, the financial cost associated with our elections is much higher. For instance, our Code now has very extended notice requirements. The notice periods are longer and include requirements for newspaper advertisements. In addition, the 2001 Code requires an advance poll prior to the election. These provisions are necessary in order to provide a fair opportunity for all our members to receive proper notice and vote in our elections. However these provisions are also very costly. We must hire an electoral officer for a longer period of time, newspaper ads are very expensive, the advance poll doubles the cost that would have been associated with just one voting day, etc. Unfortunately, we do not receive additional funding from INAC to support these added costs.

Second as with all elections, The community is subject to a certain amount of disruption. With elections happening as often as they have been over the last number of years, it can take a very big toll on our First Nation Community.

Third, First Nation Chiefs and Councillors are dealing with a very complex and important issues today. If a community has a short terms of office and a high turn over rate it may suffer the consequences of never having leaders who have the time to gain the experience and understanding necessary for a positive decision making.

What will be proposed

We will be proposing an amendment to extend the term of office for Chief and Council to four years, with the elections of Chief and all Councillors to be held at the same time. If the amendment is approved it will come into effect for the 2004 elections.

2. Election Code Amendment Process

A new amendment process was included with the June 2001 amendments tot he code. This new process is well defined and has very lengthy and fair notice requirements. However, the actual amendment to the code can be achieved by a majority of those electors who attend a meeting. As it curently exists, this section has the potential to have a very few members sucessfully amend the code.

We recognize that this situation should be revised to provide for a higher number of members in support of an amendment.

What will be proposed:

We will be proposing a change with a higher standard for the acceptance of an amendment.

3. Miscellaneous

There are a number of small housekeeping matters that must be resolved with the code, including some typographical errors that have been identified.

Please contact any member of the Council if you wish to discuss these issues. We anticipate having a proposed amendments drafted by about mid-February. Once the drafting is completed we will provide the required notice of an amendment vote. The Code requires at least three months notice for an amendment vote.

As you know the Lennox Island Custom Election Code is posted on our website (www.lennoxisalnd.com) and copies are available at the Band office.

Thank you for your continuing support and involvement. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours in Spirit

Chief Darlene Bernard
Councillor Tabatha Thomas
Councillor Hub Sark
Councillor Mary Moore Phillips

To: Lennox Island First Nation members and other concerned individuals
From: Lennox Island First Nation Council
Date: December 30, 2001
Re: Lennox Island First Nation Custom Election Code

On June 25, 2001, a majority of the eligible electors of the Lennox Island First Nation voted to accept a wholly amended Lennox Island First Nation Custom Election Code (the “Lennox Island Band Custom Election Code”)

Section 1.2 of the Lennox Island Band Custom Election Code states:

1.2 The effective date of these wholly amended Custom Election Rules shall be declared by the Lennox Island First Nation Council and shall be no later than six months following the date of the amendment, being June 25, 2001.

In accordance with section 1.2 of the Lennox Island Band Custom Election Code, a Band Council Resolution was passed on December 20, 2001, which declares December 24, 2001 as the effective date of the Code.

The Lennox Island Band Custom Election Code, as accepted on June 25, 2001, a copy of which is posted on this Web Site, is therefore in effect as of December 24, 2001.

This Notice is posted under the authority, and with the direction, of the Lennox Island Band Council, this 30th day of December 2001.

Yours in spirit,

The Lennox Island First Nation Council:
Chief Darlene Bernard
Councillor Margaret Sark
Councillor Mary Jane Lewis

Re: John Joe Sark v. Lennox Island Band et. al.
To: Lennox Island First Nation Members
From: Chief Darlene Bernard, Councillor Margaret Sark and Councillor Mary Jane Lewis
Date: August 27, 2001

The Council would like to inform all members that John Joe Sark has agreed to discontinue his case against the Lennox Island Band.

Background

In 1995 John Joe Sark sued the Lennox Island Band and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. As you know, our Band is a “Custom Band”. This means that our elections are held in accordance with our own election rules and not in accordance with the Indian Act. In summary, John Joe Sark claimed that it was unconstitutional to exclude off-reserve band members from voting in band elections. He also made a similar claim because as an off-reserve member he was not permitted to run for Chief.

The Council felt that our members should deal with the issue of band elections. In February 2000, the Council initiated a review process for our Election Code. Both on and off reserve band members were consulted during a series of band meetings and workshops held over the last year and a half. Based on the direction the Council received from these consultations a wholly amended Election Code was drafted.

Many opinions and concerns were brought forward during the consultation process. However, three things were very constant. First, most members were supportive of allowing both on and off reserve members to vote in band elections. Second, most members felt it was fair and necessary to have off reserve members represented somehow on the Council. Third, most members felt strongly that the Chief of the First Nation should be a resident of the reserve.

The wholly amended Election Code has many differences from the previous Code but the most important changes are as follows:

The size of the Council has been increased to four. After the next scheduled election, the Council will consist of a Chief and two Councillors who must reside on the reserve and another Councillor who must reside off the reserve.

All band members, both on and off the reserve can now vote for all positions.

On June 25, 2001 there was a successful vote to amend the Custom Election Code. The wholly amended code, with the changes described above, is now our Custom Election Code. The Council has until December 25, 2001 to declare the Code in effect.

The Council felt very strongly that this was the right way to deal with such an important issue. This is why the Council proceeded with the consultation process and amendment vote regardless of the John Joe Sark case.

We were very pleased with the consultation process and the resulting amendments to the Custom Election Code. In our opinion, and in the opinion of most band members we have spoken to about the issue (both on and off reserve members), the new Code is extremely fair; the new amendments are a reasonable balance of the unique interests of our on reserve and off reserve members.

The consultation process and amendments were not tied to John Joe Sark's court case. We proceeded with the review process because it was the right thing to do and we did not feel that such an important review should be delayed because the Band was being sued.

After the successful amendment vote on June 25th our lawyers contacted John Joe Sark's lawyers to suggest that the case should now be settled. We were scheduled for a lengthy federal court trial starting September 5, 2001. However, following a settlement conference on August 17, 2001 John Joe Sark agreed to discontinue his court case against the Band.

The Council is pleased to report that the John Joe Sark case against the Lennox Island Band, which began in 1995, was formally discontinued as of August 22, 2001.

We would like to thank all those who participated in the consultation process and who worked so very hard to achieve both the amendments to the Custom Election Code and the resolution to the John Joe Sark court case.

It is the Council’s firm belief that our First Nation community, and not the courts, must determine the direction we take on issues affecting our people. Our experience over the last year and a half and the resulting new Custom Election Code confirms this belief.

Thank you.

Yours in spirit,

The Lennox Island First Nation Council:
Chief Darlene Bernard
Councillor Margaret Sark
Councillor Mary Jane Lewis