A board appointed to handle election appeals in Thessalon First Nation has decided against calling for a new election — despite its conclusion that last year’s elections for chief in council were riddled with “serious” breaches of the community’s own electoral code.
The three-member board determined that while the First Nation’s custom election code was breached repeatedly during the November 2023 election, the evidence brought forward was insufficient to conclude the breaches altered the outcome.
“The appeal board believes that the circumstances surrounding the election and election appeals raise grave concerns about governance and rule of law in the community,” the board said in a recent news release.
It also admonished staff at Thessalon First Nation for withholding election appeals from the board for a period of approximately eight months — a brazen breach of the community’s election code.
As previously reported by SooToday, the election appeal process was essentially hijacked by Thessalon First Nation band manager Lesley Boulrice and staffer Carol Bobiwash — who was initially hired by the First Nation last year to oversee the appeal process — when they withheld a total of three election appeals from the appointed board.
That was in clear violation of Section 7.2 of the community’s custom election code, which states that it’s up to the appeal board to supervise and administer all election appeals, and that the board will hold office until all appeals are determined.
The appeals were eventually handed over to the board months after two of the appellants, Cora-Lee Simon and Sherrie MacDonald, used their own personal funds to take Thessalon First Nation to Federal Court for blocking the appeal board from carrying out its duties.
The appeal board is now recommending that “accountability measures” be taken against those responsible, saying the actions showed a “gross level of administrative abuse of power and disregard,” not only for the election code, but the community as a whole.
“These unethical actions cannot go without consequence and accountability must be enforced to prevent such a gross violation from recurring in the future,” said appeal board elder Gerry Clark in the release. “We strongly urge chief and council to hold the applicable staff members accountable for breaking the Thessalon First Nation Custom Election Code.”
While two of the appeals found evidence supporting two electoral code breaches — a failure to provide two colour-coded ballots for elections of chief and council, and band members being permitted to vote without presenting identification — the board found the breaches could not be proven to alter the outcome of the election.
While investigating the claims, the board learned there were at least 15 band members who were not asked to present identification or their registration number and date of birth prior to voting. It was also discovered that at least one person who was ineligible to vote due to age requirements was able to obtain a ballot and cast a vote in the November 2023 election.
Requests by the board to view the master voters list to determine the number of ineligible votes were denied by Thessalon First Nation, and its investigation was subsequently terminated.
The board also discovered that a portion of one of the appeals was not included when the appeals were handed over to the board by a lawyer for the First Nation.
“Therefore, while the available evidence supports the appellants claims, the appeal board determined that this was insufficient to conclude that the electoral breaches constituted grounds that could have changed the outcome of the election,” the board concluded. “While the appeal board does not call for a new election, they strongly believe the election of November 2023 was not carried out with the level of transparency, responsibility or accountability that the Thessalon First Nation community deserves.”
The appeal board has made a handful of recommendations to Thessalon First Nation, including a complete overhaul of the custom election code through community engagement and consultations. It has also recommended that Simon and MacDonald both be reimbursed by the First Nation for legal fees incurred for taking Thessalon to Federal Court earlier this year.
The scathing release from the appeal board is just the latest development in the ongoing strife within the small community of 113 residents since Thessalon First Nation Chief Joseph Wabigwan and a new-look band council took office following last year’s election.
Thessalon First Nation employees were officially unionized under the United Steelworkers over the summer amid allegations of toxic behaviour, including harassment and micromanaging of staff members by band administration.
Staff members estimated that more than 30 employees at the First Nation have either resigned, been fired or taken a leave of absence since new administration staff took over following the November 2023 election.
As previously reported by SooToday, former band manager Mary Jane Wardell sued the First Nation for $850,000 in damages earlier this year over claims that she was wrongfully terminated and kicked out of the band office — without pay, benefits or reasonable notice — for allegedly “failing to be in line with the directive” of new leadership following last year’s elections. The allegations have yet to be tested in court.
But the dysfunction in the community doesn't end there: Maamwesying North Shore Community Health Services pulled all of its health-care workers out of Thessalon in April upon learning that a nurse employed by the First Nation committed a privacy breach by accessing personal health information for more than 20 individuals without authorization.