On Thursday ( Board Report release Meeting of Wednesday November 23rd )

At our regular meeting this month, Casey Brouwer, trustee-elect from Osoyoos, took his oath of office and we can now formally welcome him to our Board. Thank you Casey for putting your name forward and we look forward to working with you. The Board also formally thanked June Harrington for her many years of service to the students of SD53 and to the community of Osoyoos. June has always been a strong advocate for public education and for the needs of students and she will be missed.

 

On Friday ( News Release )

A trustee by-election was recently held for the trustee electoral area of the Town of Osoyoos and RDOS Area A. The Local Government Act (the “Act”) requires two (2) advance polls during an election unless the population of the trustee electoral area is under 5,000. In the November trustee by-election process, only one advance poll was held.

The Chief Election Officer advised trustees and the by-election candidates of this issue and apologized for the omission. Section 153 of the Act allows a candidate in an election, the chief election officer, or at least four electors of the electoral area for which the election was held, to bring an application to the BC Supreme Court to challenge the validity of an election on the basis that an election “…was not conducted in accordance with this Act or a regulation or bylaw under this Act.”

The application must be made within thirty (30) days from the declaration of the official election results.

The declaration of official election results was made on November 9, 2016. The application to the BC Supreme Court would not necessarily result in the by-election being declared invalid, however, as the Act does anticipate the possibility of errors or oversights. Section 155(3) of the Act states: “the court must not declare an election invalid by reason only of an irregularity or failure to comply with this Act or a regulation or bylaw under this Act if the court is satisfied that (a) the election was conducted in good faith and in accordance with the principles of this Act, and (b) the irregularity or failure did not materially affect the result of the election.”

The recent trustee by-election process appears to satisfy the requirements in Section 155(3), however, candidates have been notified of the omission in the event they wish to make an application to the BC Supreme Court. The Board recognizes that in accordance with the Act, they do not direct the election process and it would therefore not be appropriate for them to comment on any further actions regarding this issue.
Lynda Minnabarriet, Chief Election Officer/Secretary Treasurer
School District No. 53 (Okanagan Similkameen)