Federal court hearing date set
Mohawk Council of Kanesatake. File Photo
A hearing date of September 23 has been booked for the federal court case regarding Kanesatake’s election process, in an announcement that will likely push a local election to next year.
“Unfortunately, even if the court date and session is fairly short, we’re still going to be stuck with the election in the new year,” said caretaker council member Brant Etienne.
The hearing will be hybrid, with respondent Graeme Drew attending the hearing online and all other parties involved in the case in-person, according to public court documents. Drew was the chief electoral officer who cancelled Kanesatake’s election on the eve before it was to be held last year.
A backlog of immigration cases in the judicial system explains part of the delay, said Etienne.
Multiple settlement offers by the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake were not accepted by the parties involved in the case, said Etienne. One party was willing to discuss a settlement on some conditions, said Etienne, but other parties did not agree. All parties must agree for a settlement to be successful.
“That would have been an alternative to waiting for the court to set dates,” said Etienne. “That didn’t go through, so it’s all just with the court case now.”
Last year, the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake applied for judicial review of the election, bringing to the Federal Court: “whether the office of CEO is currently vacant, if so, who is responsible for hiring a new CEO and when should a new election take place, whether a special public meeting within the meaning of paragraph 8.3 of the Code hold the authority to make that decision, and what is the process for the new election?”
A judge will rule on these questions.
In the same application, the Council applied for interlocutory relief by way of a judge’s order instituting a caretaker council made up of five outgoing Council chiefs. The five members of the caretaker council, Serge Otsi Simon, Brant Etienne, Amy Beauvais, Denise David, and John Canatonquin, were appointed in October 2025.
Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
