Part of the fissured Penticton Indian Band community has gone to the polls to fill council vacancies Wednesday, while another portion of the community abstained and protested the vote.
The band is voting on five council seats that have been open after resignations between the spring and August this year. But along with the two latest council resignations, from Timothy Lezard and former chief Jonathan Kruger, came public exposure to deep divisions in the community.
One contingent in the community, those typically seen as allied with Kruger, brought their discontent to front of stage Wednesday, outside the community鈥檚 polling station set up at the band hall.
Related: Emotional PIB meeting ends with disputed nominees
鈥淚 don鈥檛 agree with this election. It鈥檚 being done all wrong,鈥� said former electoral officer Valerie Baptiste. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 even a deputy electoral officer; there鈥檚 only one person in there and we鈥檝e never had an election like that.鈥�
Baptiste, who has been the electoral officer for 34 years, added the band hasn鈥檛 ever seen a silent nomination during her tenure in the spot, a tradition broken at an emotional nomination meeting last month.
鈥淎nd we couldn鈥檛 even hear the names of the band members who they were reading off the list. That in itself is wrong, because everyone is supposed to hear the names and say yea or nay,鈥� Baptiste said.
Related: PIV needs to 鈥榙o some healing鈥�: Kruger
Pierre Kruger, too, decried what he saw as an 鈥渋llegal鈥� vote to replace council seats, taking aim particularly at an argument that the current chief and council, down to four members, do not hold quorum according to PIB law.
#Penticton Indian Band members protesting the byelection being held to fill five vacant council seats today. pic.twitter.com/3mZQU9xRiW
鈥� Dustin Godfrey (@dustinrgodfrey) November 22, 2017
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a legal government. What happens in this country when they鈥檙e in a minority government and stuff? They have somebody doing something wrong, one of their leaders, they resign,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hey have a re-election, they have byelections. They have a proper government, and to me a collapse of government is a collapse of government.鈥�
Related: PIB claims no legal basis for recall
Band administration tackled that notion directly in a fiery Sept. 22 news release, publishing email exchanges with lawyers providing legal advice to the band. In those emails, a lawyer noted the five councillors and one chief requirement does not mandate that those members hold their position all at the same time.
That same week, the band filed a lawsuit against six former councillors, including current and resigned councillors and two councillors voted out of council in last year鈥檚 election.
Pierre said he doesn鈥檛 believe any decision made by the band since the August council resignations are valid, without quorum in chief and council.
鈥淚f anybody takes us to court because of these four making a bad decision, the community shouldn鈥檛 bear the burden of their decisions,鈥� he said.
Related: Penticton Indian Band sues chief, councillors
Baptiste agreed, pointing to a notice apparently distributed by the band in early July, notifying the membership of a vote to keep Baptiste and deputy electoral officer Karen Gabriel, in their positions until the 2020 election.
She took issue with the band鈥檚 later decision to go outside of the band for a temporary electoral officer to oversee this year鈥檚 byelection, which the band said at the time was to avoid any conflicts of interest or 鈥減erception of bias.鈥�
Neither of Pierre nor Baptiste were planning on voting, and both also abstained from the nomination process last month.
Pierre said he has hardly heard word from the band since the election last fall, but community member Laurie Wilson, who said she would be voting, pushed back against that, noting the band is restructuring its governance.
Related: Non-confidence issue freezes PIB meeting
鈥淭his is a pretty important part of the dismantling of colonization. Change is so very difficult; it鈥檚 a part of change that we haven鈥檛 had the freedom or I guess the room to do for a long time,鈥� Wilson said.
鈥淭his kind of bullying behaviour really has no place in a communal community, and it certainly doesn鈥檛 come from us. It really is the impact of the Indian Act system, and I think it鈥檚 changing. I think it has to change.鈥�
Wilson said she doesn鈥檛 fully expect to see fissures in the community disappear after this vote, especially when much of the population doesn鈥檛 see it as a legitimate vote.
Related: Chief responds to council resignations
鈥淚 think the work can start. I think that there鈥檚, like I said, I think there鈥檚 enough people with enough passion and enough want for change. I think the system, once the fighting kind of stops, I think the system being implemented is our system, our traditional system,鈥� she said.
鈥淥ur traditional systems have exactly the answers that they鈥檙e looking for, in that there鈥檚 inclusiveness, there鈥檚 communication and there鈥檚 our traditional decision-making is not one of dictatorship, and we have processes for decision-making.鈥�
Band members are voting on eight candidates for five positions, with the vote set to close Wednesday evening.
Results are expected to be announced Thursday morning.
Related: PIB chief and council down to four
@dustinrgodfrey
dustin.godfrey@pentictonwesternnews.com
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