MAA to elect new board members

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Metis Association of Alberta (MAA) voters will be choosing from a slate of candidates, to elect directors to 4 Zone positions being contested on election day, March 30.

Two zone directors have already been filled by acclamation in the MAA elections, which will see the use of province-wide polling stations for the second consecutive MAA election.

Roy C. Dumais of Zone 2 and Jeff Chalifoux of Zone 5 have been acclaimed to their positions, reported Bill Haineault, MAA Chief Electoral Officer.

MAA members in Zone 2 and 5 will not have to go to the voting booths, because of the acclamations, but approximately 54 polling stations will be set up in Zones 1, 3, 4 and 6 on election day said Haineault.

Candidates contesting the positions, and the MAA zones they hope to represent, are:

Zone 1, northeastern Alberta: James T. (Gerald) Thom (incumbent), Harrison Cardinal, Delphine Erasmus and Glenn Tremblay.

Zone 2, east central Alberta: Royl C. Dumais, acclaimed.

Zone 3, southern Alberta: Freda Martell and Joan B. Major-Malmas.

Zone 4, Edmonton and western Alberta: Russel Plante, Mike Woodward, Everett Lambert, Ron Larocque and Len Gauthier.

Zone 5, Slave Lake (North Central Alberta): Jeff Chalifoux, acclaimed.

Zone 6, Peace River (northwestern Alberta): Florence Henry, Joe J. Christian, Gloria Biship and Dwight Carifelle (incumbent).

Thom was appointed on March w to the Zone 1 board position to fill a vacancy left by Frank Spence, who was appointed to take over the vice-president after former vice-president Sonny Bourque was impeached.

Haineault explained the election procedures to be used in the MAA elections, which were delayed because the 1986 MAA annual assembly was delayed to March 14 and 15.

Nominations for candidates were opened on January 27, 1987, and were closed on February 27. The list of candidates in the running was posted on March 6.

Polling stations on the advanced election day, scheduled to be held on March 21, and the actual election day on March 30 will be opened from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Haineault.

The exact location of the polling stations will be announced on March 16, by letter to the presidents of all MAA locals, reported to Haineault.

An unofficial count of the votes cast will be announced on March 31, followed by the official election results, which will be announced on April 7 or 8, said Haineault.

To be eligible to vote, explained Haineault, a person has to be a Metis, a member of a MAA local, at least 16 years old and should be a resident within the zone they are voting in.

Metis people have up to the MAA election day to join the membership of a Metis local if they want to vote, said Haineault.

Those persons who are incapacitated or cannot make it to the polling stations because of illness, on election day, can still vote if they want.

"They should notify the Chief Electoral Officer right away on election day. He will direct his staff to bring the necessary voting papers to them if they want to vote, said Haineault.

Each candidates will be allowed a maximum of two scrutineers per polling station, Haineault added.