Need for a Moratorium

When the Supreme Court issued the Corbière decision it also suspended the implementation of that decision for an eighteen month period.  The intent of this suspension was to enable the development of a new electoral process that ìwill balance the rights of off-reserve and on-reserve band membersî.

While the reasons for the extension are understandable, it has had the effect of denying many non-resident band members the exercise of their voting rights for a much longer period than that of the eighteen month suspension.  During the period of suspension, bands that are due for an election or referendum are able to hold them in accordance with the current provisions of the Indian Act.  Therefore, if the bands choose to do so, they have been allowed by the court to continue to deny their non-resident band members of the right to vote, until the expiry of the suspension.  In such instances non-resident band members are denied the ability to exercise their democratic rights for a period of two to three and a half years, depending on when the vote was held and when the next one is due.

It is for this reason that CAP makes the following recommendation:

Recommendation 1