Photo: PIB

Chief and council following election

Despite five vacancies, the Penticton Indian Band says its council has the legal backing to govern the community.

The band issued a fiery statement Friday afternoon, aiming to address “issues brought forward by some community members for their own personal interests and motives.”

The statement comes on the same day that news broke of the band's lawsuit against the former Chief and five council members.

Since the Spring, Chief and council have been facing calls for a vote of non-confidence from an insurgent group fronted by former councillor Dolly Kruger.

The group turned up the heat at the start of September after the most recent pair of council resignations, attacking the remaining Chief and council through the media. They claimed the Chief and three remaining council members no longer held a quorum, and a new election should be called.

But in a package of emails released to band members this week, the PIB outlined its legal argument.

Because PIB council is a “customary council” elected under the PIB’s own regulations, the Indian Act does not apply, and neither does the Act’s provision for a five-member council.

The band attached an email from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada corroborating the claim.

The PIB’s own regulations are “silent” on the quorum issue, and as a result, “the resignations of various councillors will not take away the power of the council to continue serving the band.”

The band also dismisses the calls for vote of non-confidence by citing the apparent small group behind them.

“To permit 15 members to compel a vote of non-confidence… appears to have both procedural fairness issues and creates an opportunity for a small minority of disgruntled members to create significant expense and disruption to PIB,” the band states.

The band announced it is hiring an outside firm to oversee the byelections for the five vacant council seats to remove any appearance of a perceived bias.

Nominations will open on Oct. 11 with a pair of candidate forums to take place the same month. Voting day will be Nov. 22.