By Bryan Eneas

Peter Ballantyne’s Council of Elders decision overturned by federal ruling

Oct 25, 2016 | 5:14 PM

In one of the first cases of its kind, a federal judge has overturned the decision of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation’s (PBCN) Council of Elders.

Elders made the decision to remove Warren McCallum from PBCN council claiming he was not fulfilling the duties of his role. Judge Martine St-Louis disagreed with the decision claiming the Elders did not the support of a quarter of the First Nation’s eligible voters.

On Oct. 12, suspended urban councillor Warren McCallum appeared in court seeking to be reinstated. He argued the Council of Elders hadn’t followed due process in his removal.

The judge had initially reserved her decision in the case. Her decision came down on Oct. 19, one week after hearing both parties’ arguments.

Section 12, paragraph “h” of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) election code states “To file a complaint against a PBCN councillor, a member must have 25 per cent of the Electors from the affected reserve/community.”

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Crystal Eninew, legal representative for the PBCN Council of Elders, said the Council calculated 25 per cent of the 1,008 votes cast in the last chief and council election. St-Louis interpreted paragraph “h” differently, maintaining the Elders needed a quarter of all eligible voters leaving the Council short signatures.

According to court documents, the petition in question had a total of 260 signatures.  

St-Louis’ decision included 10 provisions for the Council of Elders to follow in the future. The Council will act as a guidance and support system for Chief and Council of PBCN, and are not allowed to vote in Chief and Council business. She also called on the Council of Elders to produce their own Guidelines and Procedures Handbook.

Representatives for Warren McCallum and the Council of Elders didn’t return phone calls for comment on this decision.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas