And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes:
COURT SAYS OFF-RESERVE NATIVES HAVE VOTING RIGHTS
Canadian Press, May 20, 1999
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
OTTAWA (CP) - A section of the Indian Act which sets a residency
requirement for voting in band elections is unconstitutional, the Supreme
Court of Canada said Thursday. Ruling on a case involving the Batchewana
Band in Ontario, the court erased a provision which required band members
to be "ordinarily resident" on the reserve in order to vote in band
elections.
The decision applies to all bands, but the court delayed the implementation
of the ruling for 18 months, to give bands time to sort out new voting
rules.
The case began with a challenge by band members living off-reserve who
argued that the residency section violated their constitutional right to
equality and shouldn't apply to the band because of the huge growth in the
number of members living off the reserve since 1985.
In 1985, the band had 543 members and more than 70 per cent of them lived
on the reserve. By 1991 however, 68 per cent were living off-reserve. The
increase was due to 1985 changes to the Indian Act that gave women the
right to remain band members if they married outside of it.
Currently, the Batchewana Indian Band has 1,426 members, two-thirds of whom
live off-reserve. The band has run its elections based on the Indian Act
since the 1890s. Lower courts ruled that the residency provision violated
the rights of off-reserve members.
The Ontario Court of Appeal said in 1996 that due to circumstances specific
to the Batchewana Band, it should be given a constitutional exemption from
the rule spelled out in the Act.
The federal government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. The
number of off-reserve band members has increased for many bands across the
country for the same reasons, and Thursday's decision will affect them all.
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SOVEREIGNTY IS THE ANSWER - CANADA IS THE PROBLEM
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
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S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
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