Judge dismisses motion to postpone Blueberry River First Nations election

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A former Chief’s motion to postpone her nation’s upcoming elections has been dismissed.

Judy Desjarlais, the former Chief of Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN), filed a motion to postpone the nomination meetings for the next elections in the First Nation on November 25th.

She had asked a federal court to delay the meeting until the decision on her judicial review regarding her removal from office was made, at which time she could enter the next election for Chief and council.

Desjarlais was removed after an independent review found she had violated the BRFN’s bylaws by unilaterally granting permit approvals to the energy company Petronas for work on traditional lands without consulting or obtaining the required approval from the BRFN council back in September 2024. 

In her most recent filing, Desjarlais claims she was notified of the new election during a case management conference concerning her removal on November 18th, not receiving a copy of the notice until November 25th.

She claimed the election dates of January 12th and 13th were a month shorter than prior administrations, and the basis of council pushing forth an election date was a violation of BRFN’s election code.

It was something the councillors – including Troy Wolf, Sherry Dominic, Wayne Yahey and Shelley Gauthier – denied, branding it “yet another attempt to disrupt Blueberry’s governance for self-serving purposes.”

Judge Glennys L. McVeigh dismissed Desjarlais’ request, stating in her decision the “last minute” injunction is an “abuse of process.”

This means the nomination meetings at BRFN will occur on Wednesday, December 3rd with a scheduled election date of January 12th and 13th, 2025.

This was following a recent unrelated judicial review filed by BRFN Elders Clarence and Joe Apsassin, which was partly granted by a federal Judge Negar Azmudeh. It found BRFN council violated bylaws in making decisions regarding industrial development.

See this Energeticcity.ca article for a timeline of events at BRFN involving the Chief and council.