Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 25/02) - Delaying their election until at least November will cost the joint Inuvik Native Band and Nihtat Gwich'in Council $30,000, the band's manager has told council.

Dolly Carmichael said the postponement of the election and resulting legal review costs being incurred for their lawyers in Yellowknife are likely to total about $30,000. Carmichael said the Nihtat Gwich'in Council has applied to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) for funds to cover the entire cost.

The council voted unanimously last week to postpone their elections until at least November after the chief electoral officer resigned and the sub-chief accused the chief of dishonesty.

Members serve a three-year term. While they function as one council, they are legally two separate bodies.

The Inuvik Native Band comes under the jurisdiction of the federal Indian Act, while the Nihtat Gwich'in Council is an incorporated body that falls under the Canada Business Corporations Act. They are holding joint elections, although elector eligibility varies between the two bodies.

Carmichael said they have been advised the current Nihtat Gwich'in Council election policy may be open to a Charter of Rights challenge because it does not comply with the Supreme Court of Canada's May 1999 Corbiere decision.

In that case, involving an off-reserve member of the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways, the court held that all eligible members, under the equality provisions of Section 15 of the Charter, regardless where they live, are entitled to voted in Section 74 Indian Act elections.

While the decision does not apply to "custom-based" elections, which is used in all NWT communities governed by chief and council, the Inuvik council believes Corbiere could be the basis for a successful challenge.

Unlike the Nihtat Gwich'in Council election policy, the Inuvik Native Band's election policy is in compliance with the Corbiere decision.