Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 22/99) - Two boards are fighting over control of a nearly defunct court workers society.

The Mackenzie Court Workers Society is in the middle of a dispute over which board, the one elected at the annual general meeting Nov. 6 or the previous board, is in charge of the organization.

The Legal Services Board took over the court worker program and cut all funding to the society Nov. 9.

Legal Services Board vice-chair Danny Beaulieu said the funding cut had nothing to do with the board's current dispute.

"They were running out of funds," he said. "We received a letter saying they were going to cut back on court workers going to territorial court. The workers would only go to J.P. (justice of the peace) court.

"We couldn't have that," said Beaulieu.

A meeting was called Monday night by members of the new board to discuss the situation. However, none of the previous board members, who were invited, showed up.

"We're frozen until this dispute on who is the real board of directors is settled," said Arlene Hache, a member of the new board.

Peter Fraser, a member of the previous board, said he and the other board members are contesting the election because it contravened the society's constitution.

"They're not legal. Our constitution says the chair (of the meeting) has to be appointed from the board, but they picked someone from the crowd," he said. "They counted votes, but they didn't count noses."

There was also some confusion over whether all of the voters and all of the newly elected board members were legal members of the society.

Fraser said the fight for control is about running, and possibly shutting, the society properly.

"(Justice Minister) Steve Kakfwi is thinking of shutting it down," he said. "I told him if he's going to finish it, at least do it democratically."

Legal Services was the society's only major funding source. The society received about $470,000 from legal services.

The society used to train and employ six court workers in the Mackenzie area, two of which worked in Yellowknife.

Court workers provide non-professional legal advice to people new to the court system.

Beaulieu said all of the court workers now work for legal services, and have job security and other benefits.

"We're saving $200,000 from this," he said. "We might use the money for more training for the court workers. We may send one of them to university to learn more about the law."

Fraser said the previous board has had little say in the whole process.

He said they have retained lawyer John Bayly and have written a letter to legal services, demanding to be let into any decisions.

"We still exist," Fraser said. "We'll get the courts to decide this if they won't recognize that."

Hache said the previous board has no one else to blame for the confusion.

"The old board was responsible for organizing the last meeting legally and failed to do so," she said.

As for the court workers, Yellowknife court worker John LeMouel said he's relieved to be working for legal services.

"The way things have been running, I didn't know whether things were coming or going," he said. "Now, when I wake up in the morning, I know I'm going to work."