Newly elected and re-elected leaders of the Semiahmoo First Nation “want to move positively and work together” for the benefit of the band.
That was the message conveyed following the Dec. 22 election of Harley Chappell to chief and re-election of Joanne Charles and Roxanne Charles as councillors, according to Surrey-White Rock MLA Gordon Hogg.
“Both Roxanne and Harley have said they want to move positively and work together… and Joanne wants to make sure they do that as well,” Hogg told Peace Arch News last week.
“I’m optimistic that they’re able to come together in a positive fashion. They want to work with the community, and expressed that.”
None of the council members wished to comment publicly on the election at this time, citing a desire to meet with band members first.
In a Dec. 29 email to PAN, Chappell said he expected that meeting to take place “in the next few weeks.”
The trio is expected to be sworn in this Friday.
Chappell, a Chilliwack resident, succeeds Willard Cook – who had held the title of SFN chief since 1996 – after receiving 26 votes to Cook’s 21.
The two were the only contenders for chief.
Five members sought a seat on council. According to results shared with Hogg, Joanne Charles won the most votes, with 26, followed by Roxanne Charles with 24. Jessica Kavanagh received 23 votes; Samantha Wells, 19; and Darlene Clark, four.
According to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, the band has 98 registered members as of November 2016. Of those, 51 live on the 129.1-hectare reserve itself, seven live on other reserves and 40 live off-reserve.
Hogg has personally enjoyed a longstanding, positive relationship with the band. He gave the eulogy when Grand Chief Bernard Charles died in 2008; has been invited to a number of special events; and said Chappell was among SFN members he knows well.
“He used to come to our house,” he said.
Hogg said last month’s relatively close vote “would suggest there were two camps” in the election.
“They’ve certainly had lots of challenges over the years. Probably, it’s been a little more challenging in terms of the issues becoming more public,” Hogg said.
Issues inherited by Chappell include the seemingly interconnected challenges of a newly tenuous relationship with the City of White Rock, and Semiahmoo’s long-contaminated water supply. The reserve has been under a permanent boil-water advisory since 2005.
Hogg named the fencing of Semiahmoo Park in late 2010/early 2011 as another “difficult time” for the Semiahmoo.
A news release issued by the band at that time described it as not an easy decision, but one made “to preserve and strengthen our ownership of the land.”
Remuneration became a contentious issue in 2015, after it was disclosed that the chief and council were together paid nearly half a million dollars in the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
Hogg said that despite the challenges, the band and council have been “pretty actively involved in a number of positive ways in the community… always been a positive participant.”
He believes Chappell “will be a very positive influence.”