Qalipu Chief and Council met on July 29th. One item on the agenda was planning for the upcoming Band Council Election which takes place every three years. More detailed news including how and where to file nomination papers, the appointment of the Electoral Officer, and information regarding a helpdesk to support voters who may need assistance with online and telephone voting, will be issued in the coming weeks. For now, here are the highlights:

• The nomination process, or “Call for Nominations”, will commence on August 30th at 8:30 am and end on September 10th at 12:00 noon.
• Election Day has been set for October 22, 2021. Voters are reminded that voting, however, takes place over the course of a window of time and votes can be cast between October 14-22 online or over the phone. All votes will be counted and the election will end on October 22.
• Your voter package will be sent to you in the mail. Please make sure your current mailing address is listed on your ginu membership profile. Click here to submit a form to ensure this is done.
• Along with voting for your elected representatives, there will also be a referendum vote to ask members if they are in favour of moving from a three-year term in office to a four-year term in office for elected Council. If this is passed with a majority “yes” vote, the changes would not come into effect until following the next election in 2024.
• All the latest Election related information will be posted to Qalipu’s Voter Information Hub. Find it here: https://qalipu.ca/qalipu-election-2021