A struggle over control of the Yekooche First Nations band council remains ongoing with the federal government refusing to record the results of a by-election that replaced the chief and a council member.
The legitimacy of a new recall provision added to the band's custom elections code appears to be the central issue and may require a return to the courts to resolve.
The recall provision was adopted in March in answer to a previous September 2012 rejection by a Federal Court of Canada Justice of a similar rule and the subsequent reinstatement of Henry Joseph as chief.
He was first elected chief in September 2011 but recalled shortly after he was sworn in in January 2012, in part because he fired several staff members, and a new chief was elected in his place.
The new provision was incorporated "with the court's guidance on the procedure for properly amending their custom code," said a lawyer representing Yekooche in a letter sent to the court on Friday, and activated after Henry Joseph and council member Mathew Joseph were refusing to attend meetings.
The latest falling out began in December when council rejected Henry Joseph's call for a salary in exchange for continuing to sign band council resolutions.
He also wanted to still have signing authority despite allegedly misappropriating band funds, according to the letter.
In August 2012, a notice of claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court that claimed, in part, that he and Mathew Joseph improperly authorized $5,000 in payment to each other as an "advance on backdated salary." Five months later, Henry Joseph had not yet responded to the claim, and the court ruled in Yekooche First Nation's favour.
The two's refusal to cooperate with the rest of council has stalled the band's treaty process, forced the layoff of three staff members, reduced hours for one other and caused three consultants contracts to be cancelled, according to the letter.
When a petition from band members urging the two to sign all necessary band council resolutions was ignored, recall petitions were launched and enough signatures were attracted to recall the two - 74 in the case of Henry Joseph and 73 in the case of Mathew Joseph.
On April 18, Allan Joseph was elected the new chief and Miranda Joseph was elected councillor. In all 42 votes were cast with voters choosing from wo candidates for chief and three for council.
However, according to letters provided to The Citizen, federal representatives have said they have received "conflicting information" indicating the process for amending the band's custom election code was not followed when the recall provision was ratified.
The same letters go on to state that the federal government may refuse to release funding to the band for the 2013-14 fiscal year and bring in a third-party manager if the Yekooche failed to "resolve the current governance dispute."
As of Monday, Henry Joseph remained listed as chief and Mathew Joseph as councillor. Angelica Rose Joseph and Mitchell Joseph, both elected in September 2011with terms that started in January 2012,also remain on council. The terms of all council members ends in January 2014.
The band's main settlements are located 240 kilometres northwest of Prince George, and 75 kilometres east of Fort St. James, at the north end of Stuart Lake. The Yekooche has 218 registered members.
