1 total
First Nation election policies barring Bill C-31 members and common-law spouses struck down.
The applicants, members of the Whitefish Lake First Nation #128, brought applications for judicial review of two decisions by the First Nation's Appeals Committee holding them ineligible to vote or run in an election.
One applicant was excluded under a policy barring those who regained status under Bill C-31 from voting, while the other was excluded from running under an election regulation prohibiting candidates in common-law marriages.
The Federal Court found that neither policy was a valid custom reflecting broad community consensus.
The Court further held that the Charter applies to the First Nation's election processes, that section 25 of the Charter did not shield the policies, and that both policies unjustifiably infringed section 15 equality rights.
The applications were allowed and the decisions quashed.
