Candidate angry on-reserve members can't vote in western Manitoba school board byelection

A First Nations father hoping to become a trustee for a western Manitoba school board that's been embroiled in controversy over residential school comments says he was dismayed to learn many First Nations residents in the area can't vote in an upcoming byelection. 

Scott Lynxleg, a member of Tootinaowaziibeeng First Nation, just northeast of Roblin, says he's angry and sad after discovering on-reserve members of First Nations aren't eligible to nominate or vote for candidates in the Oct. 30 byelection to fill four positions on the board of the Dauphin-area Mountain View School Division.

The seats were left vacant following a mass exodus that came in the wake of a trustee's controversial April presentation on residential schools. 

"It feels wrong that our kids go to school in Mountain [View] School Division in grades 9 to 12 … [but] we have no representation," said Lynxleg, who splits his time between Dauphin and Tootinaowaziibeeng First Nation.

"I have no power … and the government, they don't listen to us."

Lynxleg, who has children and grandchildren in the school division, says he gathered more than 40 signatures for his nomination to run for the board.

While he still met the 25-signature requirement, he ended up with fewer signatures then he expected, since Tootinaowaziibeeng First Nation band members living on-reserve cannot nominate or vote for Mountain View trustees.

Under the Public Schools Act, trustee elections follow the same rules as a municipal election. That means anyone residing within a First Nation's reserve does not qualify to vote because they are outside municipal boundaries. 

Extending voting rights to those living on-reserve Tootinaowaziibeeng members would require an agreement between the school board and the First Nation.

Several Manitoba school divisions have entered into those types of agreements, a provincial spokesperson told CBC  in an email.

That won't likely be possible for the upcoming byelection, but Lynxleg hopes an agreement is struck before the next election, in two years.

He wonders why nothing was done sooner to ensure Tootinaowaziibeeng members have a say in the byelection, and says it's a reminder that Indigenous people still face systemic injustices.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Education Minister Nello Altomare said the province is looking into the issue.

The school division did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Mountain View has 16 schools in an area that stretches from the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border east to Dauphin Lake and Winnipegosis, with Riding Mountain and Assessippi parks along its southern border and Duck Mountain to the north. 

Public needs a voice

Lynxleg says he's running in the byelection because he's concerned about the division's treatment of Indigenous students and other communities. There are nine people running in the school board election, including two others in Ward 2, where Lynxleg is running: Carter Taylor-Luke and Ashleigh Yaskowich.

The school board has faced scrutiny since April, when trustee Paul Coffey gave a board meeting presentation saying residential schools began as a good thing and calling the term "white privilege" racist.

In June, superintendent Stephen Jaddock was removed from his role and three trustees resigned. Shortly after, the province appointed a three-member panel to oversee the school board, which the remaining trustees have butted heads with.

Ward 4 trustee candidate Jaime Paterson, who has lived in Dauphin for 25 years but is from Minegoziibe Anishinabe, also known as Pine Creek First Nation, says she's "disheartened" by what's happened.

She has three children in kindergarten to Grade 7, and worries their voices are being diminished by the current board.

"We want them to be proud of who they are, and right now it's a little bit difficult for them," said Paterson.

During board meetings, members of the public cannot speak unless they're part of a delegation that applies at least 10 days in advance. Paterson worries without opportunities to speak publicly, some voices are not being heard in the division.

"There is systemic racism," she said. "It happens in our systems, and racism isn't going to stop today or tomorrow."

Ward 4 candidate Jarri Thompson says the board's actions have forced hard conversations in the community, and are motivating some people to run for vacant seats.

In addition to Thompson and Paterson, Daniel McKay is also running for the Ward 4 seat.

Thompson hopes all nominated candidates will get out to meet the public, because the community needs to know where they stand.

Lynxleg says all students, including Indigenous students, need someone who represents them.

But after this year's controversies, "as an Indigenous parent, grandparent, I don't feel safe," he said.

"You walk into the school division and there's a sign that says 'reconciliation,'" he said.

"Their website says, 'we will do our best to have public participation' … [but] it's hard to believe them when stuff happens like this."