Rebecca Chartrand, who finished a close second in the Churchill Keewatinook-Aski riding as a Liberal party candidate in the Oct. 19 federal election, says NDP MP Niki Ashton’s complaint about the conduct of the election at a polling station in Fairford is hardly the most important issue she could choose to address in that community.
“Ashton’s complaints have been lodged on hearsay and not facts,” said Chartrand in a Facebook post, noting that the community Ashton lodged a complaint about “overwhelmingly” voted Liberal. “A number of community members have reached out to me asking me to respond to these allegations as this is being viewed by some as an abuse of power! Rather than defending her constituents, Ashton is choosing to attack the people she has been elected to represent by making issue of petty matters. To some, this is being viewed as bullying, and in effect may discourage people from voting in the future election.”
Chartrand told the Nickel Belt News that her campaign team also received reports of voting irregularities, including voter interference and a voting violation and that a vehicle belonging to a member of the Ashton campaign with a campaign sign was parked right outside a polling station while voting was taking place in Nelson House. Under Elections Canada regulations, candidate’s representatives, such as election scrutineers, can not display partisan symbols or material, including colours or symbols that identify their candidate or party, in or near a polling place when voting is taking place, which includes the parking lot and sidewalks.
“This is one sample of the anecdotal information we received during advance voting and election night,” said Chartrand, whose campaign also forwarded complaints to Elections Canada. “We look forward to Election Canada’s review of this election and the complaints we have sent forward.”
The high number of people voting in Fairford, also known as Pinaymootang First Nation, may be because of the hardships residents have suffered since being evacuated due to flooding in 2011.
“Is it possible the high voter turnout in this community and the concerns about more ballots being cast than electors is directly related to the neglect this community has experienced over the past four-and-a-half years?” Chartrand wrote on her Facebook page. “This would explain the high voter turnout in this election. Niki Ashton won the election so why is she making this an issue?”
Rather than focusing on what happened during the election, Chartrand says, Ashton should be advocating for the people she represents.
“Members from the riding believe there are more pressing issues that need to be addressed throughout the riding in the house and wish those would be brought forward through her as their MP,” Chartrand wrote. “Stabilizing families and addressing real concerns should be Ashton’s focus, instead I see her targeting Pinaymootang because members of the community were vocal about Ashton’s negligence of this very big displacement issue during the campaign period. In the surrounding communities, including Pinaymootang, the stress of displacement has caused family breakups with children often being taken away because they no longer have a stable home. Many have lost connections to their family and community supports, and their way of life. Community members at a neighbouring community have reported 30 suicides since being forced to leave their communities. Violence and community breakdown continues to escalate as members of the community are in limbo at the mercy of the provincial government to address this issue. It has caused a sense of helplessness and hopelessness for some members, leading to death, murder and suicide. It’s a pandemic. Let’s reorient our focus and work to resolve the real issues at hand.”
