Good Governance Project

Currently, Chief and Council are serving terms of only 2 years. This was a requirement of the Indian Act which creates many problems for effective and stable governance. It is a very short time to allowfor an elected official to complete the work that Members have asked them to do. The new LSFN Custom Election Law will provide that elected Chief and Council will serve for 3 or 4 years.

Currently, all Members (those living on reserve and off) vote for Chief, and only on-reserve Members vote for Councillors from their home district (Community). Recent legal challenges in other FirstNations have found that off-reserve Members are required to have greater input in the election of Councilors, not just the Chief.

It has been voiced by Chief, Council and Members that a system where ALL Members vote for ALL Councilors (as opposed to voting only for the Councilors in your district) would be a way to unite Lac Seul as one First Nation. We are considering different ways of ensuring there is community-wide participation in LSFN governance.

Yes, we heard from the Community that Members who hold elected office should satisfy minimum requirements to be eligible to run. Under the new Custom Election Law, anyone nominated for Chief or Council must commit to certain standards of conduct. They will also require knowledge of, or commit to learning, the history, culture, and values of Lac Seul, and will have the opportunity to learn the language if they don’t already speak it. Consideration may be given to other criteria.

Electronic Voting: LSFN will be making Electronic Voting an option for the General Election in 2024 and for future Community Approval Votes. This will allow people to vote through an on-line platform for greater convenience, inclusion and participation in decision-making processes and to ensure that Mail/Post timelines do not negatively impact results.

Appeals: Going forward there will be a clear process that LSFN Members can follow if they would like to object to, or appeal, election/approval votes.

The Community has asked to reform the elections process for several years, and the current Chief and Council have made it their mandate during this term. In order to apply a LSFN Custom Election Law, rather than the Indian Act, to the next General Election, LSFN’s new Law must be accepted by the Community with enough time to prepare for the next General Election.