Mayor hopes for swift lawsuit
First court appearance in city's case against territorial government set for Friday
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The city's mayor hopes a legal dispute brought by the municipality over the fairness of the territorial electoral boundaries will be resolved before the fall election.
Mayor Mark Heyck says that while he didn't want to speculate on the impact the case may have on the Nov. 23 election, he believes it can be resolved before then. - NNSL file photo |
The city's notice filed last month in NWT Supreme Court states the electoral boundaries violate charter rights by not providing "equal and effective representation for all citizens." The city has nearly half the territory's population, but only about 37 per cent of the seats in the legislative assembly.
Mayor Mark Heyck told Yellowknifer on Monday that while he didn't want to speculate on the impact the case may have on the Nov. 23 election, he believes it can be resolved before then.
"Our hope and belief is that this can and will be dealt with as expeditiously as possible so as not to impact on any dates that are already set," Heyck said.
Asked whether the city would allow the current electoral boundaries to stand if the case isn't resolved, he made a similar statement.
"Our hope is that all this will be dealt with before that happens. It is certainly possible that the matter will not be concluded prior to the election, but our hope is that it is," he said.
The city and the GNWT will appear in court Friday, which will be open to the public. That hearing is expected to be quick, the mayor said, and that it will allow the city to advertise for other intervenors - people or groups who may want to join the case in support of the city.
Already four residents - William Aho, David Connelly, Eric Sputek, and Rolly Comeau - have filed affidavits in support of the court action.
A decision two years ago by the legislative assembly to keep the number of seats at 19 instead of upping them to 21 set the case in motion. Council unanimously voted in October last year to proceed with the court action. When the legislative assembly approved the 19-seat map that traced new out electoral boundaries, city MLAs acknowledged the potential for legal action.
"I can guarantee you that we're flipping a coin 50-50 that we're going to get a charter challenge on 19 seats, whereas (with) 21 seats, I can probably almost guarantee, but I can't 100 per cent guarantee that a 21-seat model will keep us out of the courts," Range Lake MLA Daryl Dolynny said at the time when he voted in favour of the 21-seat option. Reached Monday, he referred back to those comments.
Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, who voted in favour of the 19-seat map, told Yellowknifer he'll be watching the case with interest. He plans to attend the Friday court hearing.
"I'm glad they've finally done it," said Frame Lake Wendy Bisaro, who voted for the 21-seat map.
The case is not without precedent. In 1999, a group called Friends of Democracy successfully took the territorial government to court. That case resulted in two seats being added in Yellowknife and one in Hay River.
The city has retained Vancouver law firm Lidstone & Company, which specializes in municipal government law, for the case.
Asked for an update on the cost to the city so far, Heyck did not provide any specifics.
"We don't expect it to be an overwhelming cost," Heyck said.
He's repeatedly said the city plans a donation drive to help cover costs of the court action. So far, that fundraising hasn't happened. When it does, he said the city will likely have a trust set up specifically for the case.
