MONTREAL – With no clear timetable for Kanesatake’s band council elections, residents of the small Mohawk community near Oka are accusing Grand Chief Paul Sohenrise Nicholas of intentionally stalling the vote.
Elections were tentatively slated for early July but, on Monday, Nicholas told The Gazette he doesn’t expect a new Mohawk Council to be voted in until mid-August at the earliest,
“We were hit with the Canada Post strike and then there were some internal problems at the Kanesatake Mohawk Council, but right now the major hiccup has been hiring a chief electoral officer,” Nicholas said.
But residents of Kanesatake and two of the six chiefs on council are growing frustrated with Nicholas, saying he hasn’t made the election a priority.
“We had the chance to hire scrutineers and a chief electoral officer weeks ago,” said Chief Sheila Bonspiel.
“But before we could sign a contract, Chief Nicholas went on vacation. It’s irresponsible, it’s not democratic and he’s left the people of Kanesatake high and dry.”
At a town-hall meeting last week, potential candidate Serge Simon offered to finance a community-wide non-confidence vote against Nicholas if the chief doesn’t step down and set an election date.
“People are fed up with council,” said Simon.
“I even got a call earlier this week from a group that wanted to wait for Nicholas outside of the Mohawk Council offices and block him from entering. But that’s not the kind of thing that should be happening in this town. We don’t want the police involved and I don’t want to see a fist fight in the council parking lot. We just want elections.”
Bonspiel said elections could bring change to a mandate marked by aggressive partisanship. She says Nicholas has fostered divisions on council by cutting her and Chief Brenda Joy Simon’s salaries and giving four other chiefs raises.
“I can understand the need to regulate spending but can you explain to me why the only two chiefs critical of (Nicholas) get their salary cut while his friends get a raise,” asked Bonspiel. Nicholas confirmed that he spoke to Bonspiel about cutting her salary but denied it was politically motivated.
“It reflects the amount of work she has put into council,” he said.
The grand chief dismissed much of the criticism levelled against him as political posturing but would not comment on the issue of raises.
The management of Kanesatake’s finances will be a major talking point in the election.
The reserve lost financial autonomy in 2002, when former Grand Chief James Gabriel allowed the federal government to hire Price Waterhouse Coopers to assume control of Kanesatake’s budget. When the firm took over, Kanesatake’s debt exceeded $1 million.
The reserve’s debt has nearly quadrupled since then, and Price Waterhouse Coopers no longer controls Kanesatake’s budget. Kanesatake’s finances are co-managed with the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, a federal body. Under this new system, the debt has remained steady at about $4 million since 2008.
Beyond the question of financial autonomy, Simon and Nicholas said they want to use this election as an opportunity to overhaul Kanesatake’s often explosive political dynamic.
Since Kanesatake began electing its band council in 1991, residents have had an often contentious relationship with their grand chief. In 1997, Chief Jerry Peltier was ousted by voters before completing his term of office.
He was replaced by James Gabriel, who lost a non-confidence vote in 2001. The vote was eventually overturned in court but, on Jan. 12, 2004, tensions between Gabriel and the community erupted, resulting in an armed standoff.
That day, Gabriel used a privately hired security force of 67 police officers to raid local cigarette dealers without the co-operation of local law enforcement. The raid failed after townspeople took arms and forced Gabriel from the reserve. Gabriel’s house was burned down later that day.
“It’s not always a case of a bad chief,” said Simon.
“These guys are elected and assume office with the best intentions. There just aren’t enough checks and balances to keep them honest. We need an independent ethics council in place or else this kind of situation will always come up.”
Nicholas agreed with his political rival, saying one of the reserve’s biggest problems is the absence of firm electoral legislation.
He has not yet decided whether he wants to run for re-election in August but Simon is determined to remove the embattled chief either through an election or non-confidence vote.
“I want a clean, fair vote but either way I want to give Nicholas his walking papers.”
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.