Displaced Enterprise, N.W.T. residents, worry about upcoming voter eligibility

Territorial regulations say voters must live in community for a consecutive 12 months before election

Residents of Enterprise, N.W.T. continue to be displaced after last summer’s wildfire destroyed most of the buildings in the South Slave hamlet, but they still want a say in who leads the community’s recovery.

In December, Enterprise will have an election for three councillors and a mayor.

But according to the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA), eligible voters need to have lived in the community for at least 12 consecutive months leading up to election day.

Some residents say, considering they don’t have a home to reside in in Enterprise, that’s not fair.

Winnie Cadieux is among them. She lost her home and business in last summer’s wildfire.

“It’s important to me because it’s still my community,” she said. “Whether I’m living in it at the moment or not.”

Cadieux is living with her son in Hay River but she still wants to help select Enterprise’s leadership, especially as it struggles to rebuild.

“And at this point, those of us displaced, and it is half the community, we don’t know if we’ll be able to,” she said.

Joe Lalonde, an Enterprise resident of 10 years now living in Fort Smith, feels the same. 

“Right now, if there are any candidates out there that I’d like to vote for, it would be candidates that are going to help rebuild this community alongside residents that lost everything,” he said.

No response from MACA

Barb Hart, Enterprise’s mayor, says she’s spoken with MACA’s minister to request a policy change for displaced residents.

She says she hasn’t heard back from MACA on whether they will make an exception for the displaced residents but hopes the territory will accommodate residents who are living outside the community for factors beyond their control.

“There has to be a give and take,” she said.

“Unless people have definitely said they are not coming back or that they no longer want to be declared a resident, it’s not up to me to say who can and cannot vote.”

MACA did not respond to CBC’s questions of whether it is considering an exception for Enterprise.

The hamlet has faced significant turnover having had three mayors in the last year. 

Hart became mayor in July when her predecessor, Sandra McMaster, stepped down.

In February, four councillors resigned shortly after McMaster was elected. Those resigned seats were taken on by four acclaimed replacement councillors in April.

The election is set to take place on December 9, according to MACA’s municipal elections web page. To be an eligible candidate, mayor and council hopefuls are also required to live in the “electoral district” for at least 12 consecutive months before nominations close.

Related stories from around the North: 

Canada: Wildfire smoke closes Hwy 1 between Enterprise, N.W.T., and Alberta, CBC News