NOTICE OF SIFN GENERAL ELECTION

Notice is hereby given that a vote of the voters of Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation that the general election will take place on

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

8 a.m – 6 p.m.

THE COMMUNITY YOUTH NETWORK (CYN)

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VOTER INFORMATION PACKAGE

This was mailed to all SIFN households upon the call of the election. If you did not receive one you may download it from here.

IDENTIFICATION MAY BE REQUIRED BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO VOTE

A person may be required to produce one piece of government issued photo identification and their SIFN membership number.

CALL IN OR MAIL IN VOTING

Residents of Sheshatshiu will not qualify for call-in voting unless previous arrangements are made with the Chief Electoral Officer by presenting a valid reason. The Call in Vote will take place on Monday, August 19 between 9 am and 6 pm.

Registered voters who reside outside of Sheshatshiu will receive a mail in ballot by mail and may elect to return their ballot by mail no later than August 21.

ADVANCE VOTING

For the purpose of accommodating persons who are qualified to vote but are unable to attend, the polling station on the day of the vote, an advance voting opportunity will take place through home or institutional visits on  August 20 between the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Previous arrangements must be made with the Chief Electoral Officer.

THIS IS THE FIRST ELECTION UNDER THE SIFN CUSTOM ELECTION CODE THAT WAS PASSED BY THE COMMUNITY IN FEBRUARY, 2024

Changes have been made to the customary election process. For the complete CEC go to the POLICIES tab on this site. For clarification on some questions that have arisen from the community read on:

A REMINDER TO ALL CANDIDATES FOR THE SIFN ELECTION

As the 2024 SIFN General Election draws near, the leadership of SIFN would like to remind potential Candidates of two clauses in the Custom Election Code that must be followed by potential candidates. They are:

BUSINESS INTERESTS AND PARTNERSHIPS

 CUSTOM ELECTION CODE, Part 2, Page 10

2.7   Chief and Councillors will not have other business partnerships or joint ventures or participate in meetings that would favour the business or partnership  belonging to a spouse or family member.

 This means that there must be no involvement at any level either as partner, board member, trustee relationship or Committee membership if you are to run as a candidate for Chief or Council. We are requesting that each Candidate provide a letter from the Innu Business Development Centre (IBDC) confirming that the IBDC has no record of any business activity by said Candidate. You may call the IBDC at 709.899-3809. The letter you receive from them must accompany the Nomination Form. 

CORRUPT PRACTICES

CUSTOM ELECTION CODE, Part 12, Page 23

12.19   Every person is guilty of an offence who, during an Election, directly or indirectly offers a bribe to influence a Voter to vote or refrain from voting for a particular Candidate, or during an Election, accepts or agrees to accept a bribe that is offered.    

A bribe, as defined in this Code, is a reward, advantage, money or benefit of any kind, given or accepted illegally to persuade the recipient to vote or refrain from voting for a particular candidate.

This means that offering money, drugs and alcohol by candidates to voters is strictly prohibited and can/will be monitored. If a breech of the Custom Election Code is reported it could result in the disqualification of the candidate with added penalties.

HOW THE ELECTORAL OFFICERS WERE APPOINTED

Clarence Snow as the acting Director of Operations for the 2024 Election met with the Chief Electoral Officer to discuss potential candidates for the Elections Staff. They chose seven qualified team members for on their knowledge of elections and their previous experience. Following the passing of the Custom Election Code in February, a Custom Election Code Handbook was written as a detailed reference and guide for Election Officials. It covers the duties of Election Officials, contains copies of prescribed election forms and outlines the role and duties of the Chief Electoral Officer.  Election Officials participated in a training session on the CEC Handbook on July 23 . The Election Officials are:

1. Wendy Hillier, Chief Electoral Officer. She was chosen again when SIFN could not locate a trained CEO who is Innu and not a SIFN member. Wendy has managed many previous SIFN elections.
2. Annie Rich
3. Katherine Penashue
4. Jackie Ashini
5. Herbert Andrew
6. Angela Rich
7. Paula Nuna
8. Roxanne Rich

The Chief and Council were not involved in any discussions regarding the appointments.

HOW THE ELECTORAL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE WAS APPOINTED

Clarence Snow is the Acting Director of Operations for the election process in the absence of Greg Pastitshi who is the Director of Operations but is on leave due to medical reasons. Clarence received nine applications for volunteers for the Electoral Oversight Committee. All nine applications received were from staff members of SIFN and no applications were received from Elders. Clarence and the Chief Electoral Officer, Wendy Hillier, chose five candidates from that list and announced them to the community.

They are:

1. Stella Rich, 2. Lorraine Rich, 3. Douglas Ashini, 4. Desmond Rich and 5. Philip Michel (replacing Sheldon Nui). Due to the absence of the Director of Operations, Sheldon Nui has been appointed the acting Director of Operations overall. As it would be a conflict for him to remain on the Oversight Committee, his position was replaced by Philip Michel.