Roddy Gould Jr. wins another term as Abegweit First Nation's chief
Some members call for central P.E.I. Indigenous community to change election rules
Residents of Abegweit First Nation in central P.E.I. have elected Roddy Gould Jr. to a second consecutive four-year term as chief.
He won 148 out of 189 votes cast Friday.
"I won't let them down and I'll represent them in every capacity to the best of my ability," Gould told CBC News outside the band's office in Scotchfort, as community members gathered around cheering.
He said his focus for this term in office will be building more facilities for band members and boosting economic development.
"My mandate is to build more houses and bring more people home," Gould said.
This election marked the second time that members living off-reserve were able to vote, after five members took the band to Federal Court to win that right in 2019. But they had to be there in person to do so.
Calls to change some election rules
Some members of the community told CBC News they feel more needs to be done to make the election process fairer.
One of them is Cheryl Simon, who teaches Indigenous governance at Dalhousie University.
She woke up at 4:30 a.m. on Friday to travel from Halifax to Scotchfort so that she could be on time to vote at the polling station, which operated from 8 a.m. until noon.
This was her second time voting after she sought to join Abegweit First Nation in 2016 but was declined. She went on to file a human rights complaint in order to be recognized as a band member.
Simon was not the only person to travel a long distance. She said some flew in from Calgary and others carpooled from Toronto to P.E.I. in order to vote.
"The chief and council represent our membership. And regardless of where we live, and when you look at all of the work that gets done with respect to our rights and the decisions we make as a community, it's really important that people have their voice heard," Simon said.
The First Nation can set its own rules for elections.
Simon would like to see mail-in ballots allowed, polling stations kept open longer, and nomination methods reformed.
For example, she said there's a "really short" time between nominations opening and the election being held. "It's really important that the process is fair not only for the voters, but for the candidates as well."
My mandate is to build more houses and bring more people home.— Chief Roddy Gould Jr.
Some other band members also told CBC News they were upset with that short time frame this election, feeling that not all candidates were given a fair chance to campaign.
"It's really unfortunate that a lot of people felt that fairness was lacking, but it really highlights the need to make change and more change," Simon said.
'I'm going to make it a better process'
Gould said it's up to the band members to gather enough community support to make such reforms happen.
"Our tradition and our culture is [respectful] of the democratic process that we've inherited as a colonial system. We'll change it according to the people. If the people give me a mandate, I'll change it tomorrow," Gould said.
Gould said one of the first things he will do is launch a referendum on measures to make it easier for off-reserve band members to vote. Under the band's rules, that would need 75 per cent support to pass.
"That's one of my mandates. I'm going to make it a better process."
With files from Kerry Campbell