Vote now on reform
Kwantlen’s Consultation Vote on reform has received great turnout so far. We need your help to make it Kwantlen’s largest ever turnout, and to send a conclusive message to those who are standing in the way of our people, and their supporters who are terrorizing our community.
Voting started on February 7th and will continue until February 14th.
If we have your contact information, you should have received a voting notice by email, or by FB messenger. If you have not received a voting notice - with a login and a password - please email spokesperson@kwantlen.community for a copy.
Voting Recommendations
There are 6 questions on the ballot, and Band Council suggests voting ‘yes’ on 5 of them and ‘no’ on 1 of them:
Question 1 - Vote ‘Yes’
This question asks if you support the November 27th General Assembly, and acknowledge that this is a part of Kwantlen custom government. Every elder who was present in 1993, every cultural leader, and even Marilyn Gabriel herself (in a 2019 taped interview), confirm that the people are able to call these types of assemblies, and that its decisions are final. Kwantlen has no written governance code, but we do have established customs, and the November 27th vote was carried out in accordance with those customs. Vote ‘yes’ to confirm that you agree with that.
Question 2 - Vote ‘Yes’
In this question, we ask if you support the removal of Marilyn Gabriel from band council. There are a lot of reasons for this, but they can be broken down into these categories:
Incompetence - Marilyn does not have the skills or education to be responsible for a multi-million dollar budget. Our recent accounting session showed that if Marilyn had put the BC Hydro settlement in the bank, rather than to try and manage it - the band would have made $4 million more dollars.
Temperament - Marilyn is not temperamentally suited for political leadership. Time and time again, we have seen her lash out at opponents, refuse to engage, and be vindictive. These are not character traits we can have in a leader, let alone one who has no accountability. Her physical confrontation with Cheryl at the elders meeting was just the most glaring example of how she cannot do this job.
Disrespect for our Laws - Kwantlen has an unwritten custom governance code. This means that our laws are based on our history, our culture, and how we have done things in the past. Marilyn has ignored our customs, and our way of doing things - for a thousand years right up until the 1980s, Kwantlen people would come together to take decisions. But after decades in power with no controls, Marilyn acts as if the law is whatever she says it is that day. And it’s not just our unwritten laws she ignores. She also ignores our written laws. Land Code calls for 4 regular meetings per year - but when was the last meeting? The elders are supposed to meet monthly - when is the last time they met? Our membership code calls for an all-family committee - has anyone ever heard of this committee? Our membership code also calls for an Annual Meeting of the whole nation - when was the last time that happened?
Irresponsibility - she has too often allowed employees of the band, and family members of hers to engage in acts of violence and intimidation without any repercussions. By refusing to deal with these acts, she effectively encourages them - which is how the reserve has got to the state it is in today.
Bad faith - you have to be able to trust leadership to do what they say. In 2019 the people told Marilyn we want her to leave. She replied by launching a series of third-party consultations, with the promise to bring a new governance code to a vote. Now, nearly 2 years after the Consensus Report was produced by the mediator, she says she’s just going to ignore it and do whatever she wants instead. You cannot trust her.
For all these reasons, along with the many stories we have all heard about her poor treatment of band members, it is time for Marilyn to go. For her spiritual and community work - that can continue - but as the sole leader of the Kwantlen nation? She must go, and this is why you must vote ‘yes’ on Question 2.
Question 3 - Vote ‘Yes’
This questions asks if you agree that the band council should draft a custom governance code, and then bring it to a vote. The criticism from Marilyn’s gang is that the custom code was written by two non-sto:lo professors, and that it was written ‘without consultation’. In fact, the new governance code is based entirely on the consensus report and other reports from the third party mediator hired by Marilyn back in 2019. As for the involvement of non-sto:lo professors, this is done to ensure non-bias, this is also why Marilyn hired a non-sto:lo law firm (DGW Law), and a non-sto:lo governance firm (Four Directions Management) to run the consultations. The governance code is not a constitution, it is a law that manages how elections are run - it is a highly technical document, which is why this Band Council called on two of Canada’s leading Indigenous law experts to draft it. They have both drafted other Governance Codes, and both have experience inside government and know how these laws work. Marilyn’s criticism plays on what she believes is the ignorance of the voter - something we also know to be false.
In order for this band to move on, we must enact the consensus report from the third party mediator, and build a new government - one based on laws, one that serves all of the people. Vote yes, on this question.
Question 4 - Vote ‘Yes’
This question asks if you support expanding our band council to 5 members. This is a practical measure and was done to allow a new council to ensure that the 2 older council members, Tumia and Les, can’t obstruct governance reform. The new council members work without pay, and will remain in place until
Question 5 - Vote ‘Yes’
This recognizes local government on the Whonnock 1 Reserve. This does not divide the band like Marilyn says - it creates a new admin office within Kwantlen, bound to Kwantlen Land Code, and Kwantlen Council, and tasked with ensuring that this reserve is re-populated, and its archeological sites and cemetery protected.
We encourage you to vote yes on question 5.
Question 6 - Vote ‘No’
This asks if you support Marilyn Gabriel, and her decision to ignore Kwantlen’s governance code. If you vote yes on this, you will be voicing your support for the terroristic acts committed by her supporters. Vote ‘no’ and choose to let all Kwantlen people lead the nation. Vote no on Question 6 to stop all of this and finally allow the nation to move forward.