Advanced polls are March 19 and election day is March 30. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Band Election

LLRIB council terms expire, election day in one month

Feb 28, 2020 | 5:00 PM

The terms of Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) Chief Tammy Cook-Searson and her 12 fellow councillors officially came to an end Friday as of 4:30 p.m.

That means LLRIB voters will be headed to the polls in March to elect a new council for a three-year term. The outgoing councillors for the band are Annie Ratt, Sam Roberts, Michael Bird and Dennis Sanderson for La Ronge; Kenny Ratt of Sucker River; Norman Ross of Hall Lake; Keith Mirasty and Angus Mirasty of Little Red River; Larry Charles, John Roberts and Linda Charles of Stanley Mission; and Gerald McKenzie of Grandmother’s Bay.

“For the councillor positions in La Ronge, there are always a lot of candidates because it’s a large community and a lot of people are interested in running for council,” said LLRIB Executive Director Gladys Christiansen. “There were a lot of people in the last election.”

Nominations for council will be March 2 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at all six LLRIB communities. Christiansen noted there will then be a 72-hour window in which those who have been nominated can decide to let their name stand and submit all documentation needed to run. A list of eligible candidates is expected to be posted March 9.

This will also mark the first time band members will vote for council after a new Election Act was passed in 2019. The new act includes provisions that deal with conflicts of interest, criminal records, definitions, eligibility, residency requirements for chief and council, and the creation of an elections tribunal to oversee the election process. Some changes to run for council include having no criminal record for the previous five years, as well as being debt-free to the band.

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In preparation for the election, Christiansen mentioned tribunal members and election workers were trained this week.

“We had a plebiscite, so one of the changes we made is chief and council do not have anything to do with the elections,” she said. “We have an election tribunal now that looks after the elections, so there are representatives from all of the six LLRIB communities.”

Advanced polls for LLRIB voters will be held March 19 between noon and 7 p.m. Election day is March 30 with polls open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno