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DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
The election race in the Deh Cho has commenced.

On Aug. 31, Michael Nadli of Fort Providence announced that he will be running as a candidate in the Deh Cho riding in the territorial elections. Nadli joins Michael McLeod, the incumbent, who had previously announced his intention to seek a fourth term. Unless another candidate steps forward, this election will mirror the 2003 election when Nadli and McLeod were the two candidates for the riding. This marks the second time Nadli has sought to become the MLA for the Deh Cho.

"I'd thought about it for some time," Nadli said about his decision to put his name forward.

Nadli said elders, leaders and individuals in the constituency encouraged him to enter the election as an alternative to McLeod. Nadli has held a number of leadership positions in the region.

He was grand chief of the Dehcho First Nations from 1997 to 2003. Nadli also just finished a two-year term on the band council for Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation during which he served as the sub-chief. Since 2003, Nadli has been working as the chair and chief executive officer of the Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee as the group has been revising the Dehcho Land Use Plan.

Nadli said all of his previous experience has given him an effective voice to express and articulate the concerns residents have at the community level.

"I have skills to listen to people and to make myself available to people," he said.

Nadli said he also views himself as a consensus-builder. Nadli said he likes working through issues to make sure there is agreement between the parties he is working with.

"I'm not going to solve every problem that people have, but I'd like to at least be able to help them and be a voice for them," he said.

Nadli said leaders need patience and understanding and the ability to step back from situations when it's called for. He said he values making sure decisions are made at the end of the day that will move a situation or problem forward.

One of the primary issues currently facing Fort Providence, and likely the other communities in the riding, is housing, said Nadli. Efforts need to be made to find alternatives to evicting people including closer co-operation with First Nation bodies so people have a recourse if they can't pay their rent.

"I think it's a real human issue," he said.

Nadli said he also believes the Dene values of respecting oneself, people and the surrounding environment are universal ideals. Nadli said currently in the North, people have to be very conscious of their responsibilities to the environment but at the same time recognize the need for development.

"I think with my perspective, I can help out with ensuring there is a balance and that people are prepared for that kind of stuff," he said.

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