Former chief petitions for new election in Waswanipi

A former three-term chief of Waswanipi has been nominated to run again as chief of the community. Whether or not he’ll be able to run, however, is still up in the air.

John Kitchen was Chief of Waswanipi for 10 years, and served on the band council for a decade. After his political career he became a businessman in and out of the community. “The community has issues,” Kitchen told the Nation when asked why he was running again. “Especially housing. That needs to be addressed.”

On July 3, Kitchen officially entered the race after being nominated by Jonathan Ottereyes, Jason Neeposh, Marry Ann Jolly Pricilla Ottereyes and Ronnie Trapper. At the time, the nomination was accepted by Returning Officer Juanita Cooper Bosum.

“I asked twice if the nomination had been accepted,” said Kitchen. But shortly after there were issues with his nomination papers.

Initially, a complaint was filed with the Returning Officer in regards to an alleged conflict of interest for Kitchen. Earlier in the year, Kitchen had bid on and won the contract to build five homes in the community. The complaint was accepted and Kitchen himself met with the Returning Officer.

During that meeting the band’s legal counsel stated that Kitchen should be allowed to run but if elected must resign from his companies.

“On August 3 a meeting took place between the Returning Officer, the Chief and Corporate Secretary,” read a document sent to the Nation. Kitchen’s nomination was rejected at 1 pm that day, two days after the August 1 deadline.

Apparently there were several other issues arising with Kitchen’s nomination papers. According to the document, Kitchen was informed that one of his signatories had signed three other nomination papers. Before that, on August 2, Kitchen was informed they’d lost his papers. He was also told on August 3 that one of his nominators hadn’t printed their name on the papers, and finally that a seconder hadn’t signed.

In the wake of the August 3 decision to reject his nomination, Kitchen launched a petition to have his name included in the list of candidates. It garnered 177 signatures and triggered a special general assembly on August 15. On August 20, the first of three potential meetings took place to vote on whether a new election should take place and to replace the Returning Officer. The meeting attracted 102 community members, however, 178 community members are needed for quorum.

At press time, there are two more special general assemblies scheduled before the election. One takes place on August 27, and if needed, a final special assembly will be held on September 3.

The election, originally scheduled for August 30, has now been moved to September 7, with advanced polls opening on August 27. But if the Kitchen is successful in his petition, the election campaign will start anew, and a new date for those elections will be determined.

“They’re not giving me a chance and I feel like I’ve been treated unfairly,” said Kitchen. “If I was elected I’d make sure to look at our election by-laws. There are a whole bunch of holes in the process that need to be fixed.”