Sask Votes 2024: Working collaboratively to build relationships and trust

More than a decade ago, on returning to the province after working internationally to support democratic elections and being appointed Saskatchewan’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), one of my priorities was to reach out to Indigenous leaders.  The objective was to work intentionally and collaboratively with leaders to build relationships of respect—relationships that would lead to strengthening the voice of Indigenous people in Saskatchewan’s electoral processes.

For me, the importance of this initiative dates to my days growing up in Regina. My family lived in a modest neighborhood in the central part of the city. Many of my schoolmates were Indigenous, who often faced challenges of poverty and racism. The experience and lessons of those years shaped me and stay with me to this day.

As CEO I have travelled the province meeting with Indigenous people on First Nations territory and in other communities. The outreach has included annual summer trips to visit Saskatchewan First Nations Chiefs and Councils in the north and across the province. Two leaders who assisted me in making contacts and opening doors have been Chief Tammy Cook Searson and Chief Peter Beatty, long-time Chiefs of Lac LaRonge First Nation and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation respectively, to name just a couple.

In this era of Reconciliation, building bridging relationships with Indigenous communities is a national responsibility. It is something Elections Saskatchewan, our provincial election management body, takes very seriously.

The impetus for reaching out on the part of Elections Saskatchewan was not so much about the technical aspects of election administration as it relates to Indigenous people, as important as that might be. Our focus has been on building relationships of respect, which are important in their own right. Once that respect and trust were established it became possible to take a longer-term view and discuss how to strengthen the voice of First Nations and Metis people in provincial elections.

I openly admit that trust was initially not there. But over the years of engagement and collaboration with Chiefs, Councils and other leaders, including those with the Metis Nation of Saskatchewan, Elections Saskatchewan and I have learned a great deal about Indigenous culture. It has helped us understand how we can offer our services as Saskatchewan’s impartial, independent election management body as part of giving voice to Indigenous people in provincial elections.

In the upcoming election, our goal has been to have voting locations on every First Nation that will allow it during the six days of voting week. We have worked with Chiefs and Councils to identify a number of appropriate sites for voting locations that can serve both the First Nation and the wider community.

The efforts to improve voting accessibility and convenience on First Nations is consistent with Elections Saskatchewan overall strategy. Our guiding principles are integrity, accessibility and service as part of an electoral process that has the trust and confidence of all Saskatchewan people.

It includes expansion of our vote-by-mail initiative that began in the 2020 election during the COVID pandemic. It allows all registered voters, including Indigenous voters throughout the province who wish to vote by mail, to apply for a kit that will be sent to them and provides the ballot and all the information they need to securely vote by mail.

It is all part of the effort to provide the access and convenience all Indigenous people need so that their voices are heard as part of the democratic process in Saskatchewan.

Over the years I think we have made progress by working together to build relationships of trust. Those relationships now form the foundation so that Indigenous people can more fully be partners in shaping the collective future of our province.

Michael Boda has been Chief Electoral Officer of Saskatchewan since 2012 and is a Policy Fellow at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Policy.  For the past three decades, he has offered advice on electoral issues around the globe, including in Jordan, Pakistan, Ghana, Scotland and the United States.