Friends of Democracy state their case
Supreme Court hears electoral boundary challenge

Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 05/99) - The Friends of Democracy had their day in court this week, and the decision as to whether Yellowknife warrants additional legislative representation is imminent.

The Yellowknife-based Friends group faced the GNWT and an intervenor group in territorial supreme court Monday and Tuesday. Friends launched the legal challenge Dec. 9 after the legislature voted not to accept the recommendation of an electoral boundaries commission that the territorial capital be awarded two more legislative seats.

The man ruling on the challenge is a veteran of the Northern justice system -- NWT supreme court justice Mark de Weerdt, currently retired and living in British Columbia.

In arguing their case before de Weerdt, Friends' -counsels Brian Wallace and Ron Skolrood concentrated mainly on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and case-law precedents from around the country.

"Section 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees every Canadian the right to vote, as well as effective and fair representation in every legislative assembly and the House of Commons," said Wallace on Monday. "The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that any deviation by parity must be justifiable to withstand the charter challenge."

Friends' counsel argued that the deviations in the NWT's case -- where one Yellowknife riding has more than eight times the population of certain community ridings -- is too great to give Yellowknife voters equality.

Earl Johnson of the attorney general's office responded for the GNWT, basing his defence on history and the status quo. He argued that the capital has always had fewer seats and stressed that in gaining additional representation, Yellowknife would be seen as making a power grab.

Backing up the government on Tuesday was Intervenor counsel Charles McGee, representing the Dene Nation, the Lutsel K'e Dene Band, the Metis Nation, the North Slave Metis Alliance and the Sahtu Secretariat.

McGee also referred to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms but said that Section 3 must be qualified by Section 25, which he said states the charter must be interpreted so as not to infringe on the rights and agreements of aboriginal peoples. McGee stressed the concern that any legislative amendment might detract from the progress of NWT aboriginals in settling land claims or gaining self-government. He also endeavoured to show that Yellowknife already enjoys sufficient representation.

Justice de Weerdt closed the hearing late Tuesday afternoon, and is expected to hand down a decision in the next two weeks, keeping in mind that any electoral changes must occur by April 4, or six months prior to the scheduled Oct. 4 legislative election.