Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
North

Nominations close for Yukon school board elections

Before Nov. 7, parents and educators from the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon and the newly formed First Nation School Board will choose their next five board members.

This is the first election for the newly formed First Nation School Board

CBC News ·
A man sits at a table before a microphone.
Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm speaks to media in Whitehorse alongside Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill on Oct. 11. Tizya-Tramm is one of 12 people who have put their names forward to sit on the First Nation School Board. (Jackie Hong/CBC)

Nominations for two Yukon school boards are now closed. 

Before Nov. 7, parents and educators from the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon and the newly formed First Nation School Board will each choose their next five board members. 

This is the first election for the First Nation School Board, and the first election cycle where Yukoners will be able to vote online. 

Last November, eight Yukon schools voted to join the First Nation School Board. Twelve people have put their names forward for the five spots.

One prominent candidate on the ballot is Dana Tizya-Tramm, the current chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. 

His coworker, Charyl Charlie, is another candidate on the ballot. Charlie, according to the First Nation's website, works as an implementation adviser. 

There are three educators from the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations who are on the ballot: Erin Pauls, Millie Joe and Sean Sheardown. 

Jocelyn Joe-Strack, the Yukon University's first research chair in Indigenous knowledge, is on the ballot.

Jocelyn Joe-Strack is the research chair in Indigenous knowledge at Yukon University. (Mike Rudyk/CBC)

Gillian Staveley, a member of the Liard First Nation who works with the Dena Kayeh Institute, is a candidate from the southern part of the territory.

Lynne Raita is also listed as a candidate.

Picture shows a woman in front of a microphone.
Shadelle Chambers is the executive director of the Council of Yukon First Nations. (Claudiane Samson/Radio-Canada)

Four more candidates put their names in just before noon: 

  • David Johnny Sr., an elder from Beaver Creek.
  • Shadelle Chambers, the executive director of the Council of Yukon First Nations.
  • Christine Pottie, an education support co-ordinator for the Elijah Smith Elementary School.
  • Dawn Waugh, director of education and social development at Kwanlin Dün First Nation.

Here are the candidates running for the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon: 

  • Myriam Bougie
  • Giuseppe Fico
  • Jesse Cook
  • Jean-Sébastien Blais
  • Jessica Masson Guerette
  • Véronique Maggiore

Online voting a first for Elections Yukon 

Maxwell Harvey, Yukon's chief electoral officer, told CBC that they decided to introduce online voting to make the process more accessible. 

But Harvey said there is a lack of standards in the territory — something that needs to be fixed. 

Maxwell Harvey, Yukon's chief electoral officer, pictured on March 22, 2021, next to the deposit door of Elections Yukon's drop box in Whitehorse. (Steve Silva/CBC)

"Confidence in the results and the process is essential, not only for the electors but the companies that deliver it," Harvey said. 

For now, Harvey said the Yukon is using corporate standards from Simply Voting, a Montreal-based online voting system, for the upcoming board elections. 

The Yukon and the N.W.T. are working together to create new guidelines for online voting, Harvey continued. Those should be available by the spring. 

Polling day is Nov. 7 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. in person. Results from the election will be posted the next day. 

With files from Julien Gignac

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

Related Stories