Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Liard (Aug 01/05) - Two weeks after a disputed election victory, Harry Deneron has moved in as chief of the Fort Liard band.

After seeking legal advice, he has invited anyone who wants to challenge his authority to file a claim with the Federal Court.

"We're getting very tired of it. We've got better things to do," Deneron said.

Former chief Floyd Bertrand appealed Deneron's July 14 54-vote election victory.

Rita Cazon, returning officer for the Acho Dene Koe election, concluded that Bertrand and the previous band council should remain in power until another vote can be held. She said she's convinced intimidation and coercion by one of the candidates influenced the outcome of the election.

"My decision is final," Cazon said.

Deneron and four of the five newly-elected councillors posted a letter to band members stating: "We do not approve of the actions taken by Ms. Cazon... Our customary laws are unwritten and do not include any appeal process for challenging election results."

Deneron insists that the election code used in the July 14 vote was never formally adopted.

Furthermore, he argued, Cazon is "not an election officer, she is a band employee," because she was paid by the First Nation, not the territorial or federal government.

Cazon said she drafted the Acho Dene Koe's election code based on her experience as a returning officer, which dates back more than two decades.

She pointed out that the same election rules applied in the Acho Dene's past two trips to the polls.

"If they're going to decide everything themselves, why have an elections officer... if things can go every which way?" she asked.

At the department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, George Cleary, director of Indian and Inuit services, said his department does not endorse what Rita Cazon is doing.

"We've never been notified of any official results of the election at all," said Cleary, noting that DIAND does not get involved in custom elections.

Death threat

The tension surrounding the election in Fort Liard was palpable, according to Cazon. She said she heard indirectly of threats being made. Then on July 22 she took a call at the band office and she said the male voice on the line uttered, "You are dead!"

Fearing for her safety, she immediately called her husband in Fort Simpson to come and pick her up, she said.

"I had no security when this was coming down and it was scary. It was scary," a visibly shaken Cazon said from her dining room table as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Friday, when my life was threatened, I said enough was enough."

Const. Christina Fenc of the Fort Liard RCMP detachment said, as of July 27, no charges had been laid in relation to the election. Several Fort Liard band members, including Floyd Diamond'C and Joanne Deneron, said they are concerned that Cazon's statements are only making the community look bad.