Chief Tammy Cook-Searson was re-elected to a seventh term as Chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) March 30. The term extends from March 30, 2023 to March 2026.
Voting was carried out in a “hybrid” system, with options to vote electronically, remotely or in-person.
Poles were set up in the LLRIB six communities and in off-reserve locations: Brabant lake, Pinehouse, Prince albert and Saskatoon.
Cook-Searson won in a three-way vote with 1502 (43.6 per cent) votes. The other two candidates were: John P. Roberts, 1102 votes and 836 votes for Bruce Fedrick McKenzie.
In the Council vote, Lac La Ronge Reserves #156 and #156B, Ann Ratt (653 votes), Dean Roberts (476 votes), Cheryline (Charlene) Venne (427 votes) and Sam (Chox) Roberts (398 votes).
Devin Bernatchez, Sucker River Reserve, and Norman Paul Ross, Morin Lake (Hall Lake) Reserve were acclaimed.
In the Stanley Mission vote: Jimmy B Charles (717 votes), Linda A. Charles (608 votes), and Robin McKenzie (307 votes).
In Grandmother’s Bay, Gerald Robin McKenzie won with 115 votes over Clifford McKenzie, who received 64 votes.
In the Little Red River Reserve vote, John R. Halkett and Keith Mirasty, each receiving 84 votes, were elected.
While she has been elected to Council in the past, Charlene Venne is new to this Council. Other new councillors – Robin McKenzie and Dean Roberts.
In her letter to the LLRIB membership, Gladys Christiansen, chair of the LLRIB Elections Tribunal and Chief Executive Officer, noted the work done by the Chief Electoral Officer, Milton Burns and Carol Burns, assistant, in the work of “selecting and training workers and ensuring that all questions and concerns were responded to.”
Approximately 80 members were involved in the preparation and during the Election itself, she wrote in her letter.
Christiansen also expressed appreciation to those former councillors and to all the Band members, who voted in the election.
LLRIB is the largest Cree band in Saskatchewan with 11,602 members as of March 31, 2022It covers 210,003.5 hectares, which extend from farmlands in central Saskatchewan to the Boreal forest and Churchill River.
The Swearing In Ceremony for the new Chief and Council will be held on Monday, April 17.
