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Protest in Wikwemikong
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by Diana Smith and Michael Erskine
WIKWEMIKONG---The recent political turmoil in Wikwemikong boiled over
this past Monday as band members who disapprove of Chief Gladys
Wakegijig's leadership style picketed the band office, and asked for
her resignation.
"It is the hope of the band members that Chief Wakegijig will make an
honourable and respectful decision, by stepping down from her duties
as Chief of the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve," stated a press
release issued by the picketers.
While protests and complaints about the actions of Chief Wakegijig is
making headlines in both the on and off-Island media, she is not
without her supporters. Band member and Wikwemikong resident Virginia
Shawanda expressed her support for the chief to the Expositor.
"I heard about the protest at the band office, so I called the chief
up and asked her about what was going on," said Mrs. Shawanda on
Monday, the day of the protest outside the band office. "The chief
told me that she works for the members of the Wikwemikong band, not
the media. She told me, 'I will ignore the protest outside, I am
going to my office today to work for the band members,'" said Mrs.
Shawanda.
According to picketers, the spark that ignited this most recent
protest was Chief Wakegijig's actions at a Band Council meeting on
Tuesday, March 19. She walked out on her fellow band councilors, but
most importantly according to the news release issued by the
picketers, she walked out on "Wikwemikong band members".
According to John Fox, one of the protest leaders, at the March 19
council meeting the issue of reinstating Albert 'Hardy' Peltier to
his position as Special Projects Officer for Wikwemikong's Island
Land Claims Office was about to come to the floor when "the Chief
simply walked out of the meeting, no motion to adjourn had been made".
He said, "This is the second time this has happened, the first time
was during the February 27th council meeting."
Albert Peltier explained that Chief Wakegijig after winning a
bi-election in September of 2001 simply locked the doors to his
office and sent him a memorandum beginning with the statement, "This
is to advise you that your services are no longer required." The
statement ended with, "This is effective immediately."
This apparently had been an unilateral action with no discussion or
instructions from Band Council. Since this time, Band Council has
made motions to reinstate Mr. Peltier to his position and to pay him
back-pay retroactive to the locking of his office doors.
In the September 26, 2001 issue of the Expositor, in an interview
following her election to the chief's position in last fall's
by-election, Chief Wakegijig reiterated her election platform of
fiscal responsibility and her planned approach: "I am not the type of
person to concentrate on the negative. I want to move forward with
the issues and do what we have been elected to do. To lead, to
manage, care for our lands, for our resources, and to move to greater
self-determination."
"We all know that a responsible government begins with a solid
financial footing. I will be working towards financial reporting on a
regular basis," said Chief Wakegijig in the article. "We have
in-house issues that we will deal with."
When asked about transparency in the same article, she responded,
"Accountability is what people want and accountability is what I am
going to give them."
The picketers though believe Chief Wakegijig is not being accountable
to Band Council. Other issues for the picketers include the attempted
removal of Councilor Robert Corbiere from the Economic Development
portfolio, the attempt to remove Councilor Donald Trudeau from the
Wikwemikong Development Commission Board, and the removal of Cecilia
Pitawanakwat from her office.
Also on the list of the picketers grievances was the padlocking of
the WDC office and the freezing of the program bank accounts, the
travel claims for more than 400 employees only being issued if
approved by the Chief's office, and the Chief's refusal to follow
Band Council motions and in not following Band personnel policy.
The protesters also cited a lack of information regarding the
Ecuadorian issue, and an apparent suit by Chief Wakegijig against
fellow councilor Robert Corbiere for $250,000 after a request by the
Chief for a personal loan of $12,000 was turned down at the council
table. The stalling over the purchase of the golf course and a quick
implementation to its start-up was the final issue on the list of
complaints against the Chief.
Mr. Peltier said that at a packed meeting last month, prior to the
purchase of the golf course, people attending the meeting were not
allowed to speak or to applaud their approval for councilors speaking
on the issue.
"The Chief stated at that time that the people there represented only
a small percentage of the people and she did not want us to say
anything," Mr. Peltier said. "Like in any other democracy, you should
be allowed to say what you believe in and that has been taken away
from us."
Chief Gladys Wakegijig and Band Council members have refused to
comment on all of the above issues.
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Tory Vote |
ESPANOLA--Manitoulin members of the Progressive Conservative Party of
Ontario dominated the local electoral process Saturday, voting in the
two rounds that, ultimately, chose Ernie Eves as party leader and
Ontario premier.
A poll in Espanola was one of three throughout the Algoma-Manitoulin
provincial riding. The others were located in Sault Ste. Marie and
in Chapleau.
The Espanola poll, where Manitoulin PCs voted, was the busiest of the
three: of the 285 votes cast in the first of the two votes Saturday
in all of the three poll locations, 130 of them were cast in
Espanola. Of these, 53 voters came from Manitoulin to exercise their
prerogative, 23 came from the town of Espanola and the balance (54)
came from individuals who had travelled from all the communities
between Nairn Centre and Elliot Lake, according to one of the poll
officials.
The first vote began in Espanola at 8 am and ended promptly at 11 am.
The vote was conducted across Ontario through ridings large and
sparsely-populated (like Algoma-Manitoulin) and the much smaller,
densely populated ones, like those in the Greater Toronto Area on a
comparative basis.
Each riding was given same value of 100 points and the percentage of
the total votes cast in each riding for each candidate then became a
particular candidate's share of the 100 points available to that
riding and thus each candidate's "riding votes" for the provincial
tally.
In the first ballot with all five candidates in the running,
Algoma-Manitoulin voted this way, across all three polls--Ernie Eves
160 votes or 56.14 percent; Tony Clement: 11 votes or 3.86 per cent;
Jim Flaherty: 87 votes or 30.53 per cent; Chris Stockwell, 8 votes or
2.81 per cent; Elizabeth Witmer: 19 votes or 6.67 per cent. There
were four spoiled ballots (0.14 per cent).
While the Algoma-Manitoulin riding polling places opened and closed
on schedule for the first vote, delays in voting in Toronto at the
Metro Convention Centre postponed the second vote from the scheduled
1 pm to 2:15 pm all across the province.
This wait at the Espanola polling place took its toll. Terry
McCutcheon from Providence Bay, for example, had been curling in the
Gore Bay Mixed Bonspiel Saturday morning but had dashed over to
Espanola anticipating voting in the second round at 1 pm.
He left, however, at 1:45 pm to resume the skip's role in the next
game, and he wasn't alone: the second round attracted 16 fewer voters
than the first.
There was other confusion across the province for the 2:15 pm vote.
When the poll re-opened, the only candidate not in the running was
Chris Stockwell who had carried the least riding votes provincially.
Voters began the second round of votes under the impression that they
were choosing from among the remaining four candidates. About 2:30
pm, Garnet Behnke, returning officer for the Espanola poll was
notified that Ms. Witmer and Mr. Clement were withdrawing from the
race and the television in the polling place also announced that
these two candidates were offering their support to Mr. Eves.
By that time, according to Espanola poll clerk Wayne Hyland, about
100 of the 114 individuals who would cast votes in his poll had
already done so.
While concern was expressed by some of the voters that this apparent
glitch in withdrawing from the ballot after the vote had already
begun might be grounds to protest a close vote, the Espanola vote
seemed to anticipate the two-person race.
In the final tally in Espanola for the second ballot, Mr. Eves
garnered 58 votes, Mr. Flaherty 47. Only one vote was cast for Mr.
Clement, three for Ms Witmer and five votes were spoiled.
Hank Pel from Gore Bay was not impressed. He was one of the earliest
voters in the second round and, anticipating a third vote, he
returned shortly after 3 pm to find out when that was likely to take
place.
"That's it. There is no more voting, "Mr. Hyland explained.
"This is not right! This is not right!" Mr. Pel exclaimed, pointing
out that he felt the runner-up could certainly have grounds to
protest because of this confusion across Ontario.
The Espanola poll consistently backed the favorite, but not by the
wide margin Mr. Eves received riding-wide on the first ballot. In
the Espanola poll, on the first vote, Mr. Eves was awarded 55 markers
while Mr. Flaherty (who had visited both Gore Bay and Espanola
mid-way through the campaign) was only just behind with 50 votes.
Mr. Clement and Ms. Witmer each received eight votes. Mr. Stockwell
was low man with five votes. As previously noted, there were four
spoiled ballots on this first vote.
In the other two Algoma-Manitoulin polls, Sault Ste. Marie supported
Mr. Flaherty on the first vote by 34 ballots to Mr. Eves 25.
Chapleau, on the other hand, resoundingly supported Mr. Eves on the
same vote by a margin of 85 per cent, substantially increasing his
popular vote and his corresponding riding-vote.
Grant Oakes from Spring Bay, a veteran of many such conventions and
rallies, looked philosophically at the hiccups in Saturday's vote.
"It's a learning experience," Mr. Oakes observed.
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