New petition to dismiss the Gespeg council
Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
GASPÉ – The Gespeg Elders Circle is launching a new petition, this time demanding the dismissal of the council that was elected in September.
The elders claim to have received evidence showing that the decision not to mail out an election notice to all members was an administrative decision by its general manager, Connie Jacques, which deprived several members of the Nation of their right to vote.
“They didn’t follow the most important thing, which is to make sure that everyone in our community has the right to vote,” states spokesperson Linda Jean.
The council has told the elders that it is not their decision. The Election Review Committee has responded to a request from a candidate for the position of chief. “The Chair of the Election agreed with Gespeg management that the Nation of Gespeg would forward all the documents produced by the Chair of the Election because the Nation’s leaders had all the information on the members’ contact information and were already aware of the functional transmission methods for voters,” said Ms. Jean, reading from a response sent to Mark Sinnett.
Mr. Sinnett stated that the council must give the mandate to the Chair of the Elections, as governance cannot be involved in the process.
“The management made the decision not to do mailouts due to costs. That’s what we were told. They were very aware of our custom of sending mailouts to all members so that all members have the information,” said Mr. Sinnett.
Thus, the decision ultimately rested with the general manager, Connie Jacques. “The basic element that triggered our work is the fact that our members were not informed that there were elections,” added Mr. Sinnett.
The Department of Indigenous Services Canada was not been approached, as Gespeg is not governed by the Indian Act for elections but by its own membership code.
“Now, I believe that we can take steps after two public outings (during which their concerns were expressed). We have a lawyer who is guiding us and helping us steer the ship,” said Ms. Jean.
The petition also mentions the need for the Council to be placed under trusteeship by the Government of Canada because the reading of the financial statements does not demonstrate the reality and shows poor management of the Nation’s funds.
The group states that the Nation’s cash flow went from $6 million in 2022 to only $2 million in 2024, with a deficit of $917,000 in the last year.
For the petition to be admissible, 206 signatures are required, or 50% + 1 of the 411 voters who participated in the September election.
Last fall, the first petition that gathered more than 375 signatures from Gespeg members was rejected. The council responded that the document had to be filed with the President of Elections.
During discussions at the annual general meeting on November 24, the current council confirmed that it was remaining in office, despite the wishes of the members. According to the council, all the rules of the electoral code were respected and, consequently, their election is legitimate.
Ms. Jean is confident that this second petition will be successful. “The beauty of our committee is that we are here for our children and grandchildren. We are doing this because there are currently seven people who manage the building at the political level, without having had an adequate election, in our opinion,” says the spokesperson. Contrary to current custom, Gespeg elders are not entitled to the same respect as in other Aboriginal communities. “It’s crystal clear,” concludes Ms. Jean.

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