AG to receive notice regarding election
SYDNEY — A hearing date is now expected to be set later this month dealing with a challenge to the election results for the Conseil scolaire Acadien Provincial school board.
Clermont (Monty) Charland has filed a challenge of the results in Supreme Court wanting the court to void the election alleging the vast majority of votes cast were not eligible.
Charland received 1,526 votes in the Oct. 17 vote while winning candidate
Marcel LeFort received 2,205 and became the representative on the provincial board for Sydney-Victoria.
It had been expected that a hearing date would be set this week but in appearing in Supreme Court, it was noted that the provincial Attorney General’s office had not been served with notice of the challenge.
All sides involved are now scheduled back in Supreme Court Dec. 14 in hopes of setting a hearing date.
Voting in the CSAP election is restricted to individuals whose first language is French, who received their primary school instruction in Canada in a French-firstlanguage program or an individual who is the parent of a child who has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in Canada in a French-firstlanguage program.
Charland claims returning officer Deborah CampbellRyan, who is also the municipal clerk for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, failed to ensure that only those qualified would have a vote and also failed to create a list of qualified electors for the CSAP vote.
In the 2020 election, both the CBRM and Victoria Country opted only to collect votes via telephone or online.
In response, CampbellRyan filed an affidavit claiming that all reasonable steps were taken to explain voting eligibility for CSAP election and all requirements were met under the Municipal Elections Act and the Education (CSAP) Act.
She said that under the act, she is not permitted to challenge voter eligibility and can only ask an individual to confirm they are eligible to vote in the election.
Further, Campbell-Ryan states there are no provisions in the election or CSAP acts that would give the court authority to declare the election void.