No consensus reached on future number of Council Chiefs at MCK Election Law hearing

04/02/2014

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) wishes to inform the community that there was no consensus reached at last night’s meeting on proposed amendments to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke Election Law. The Hearing, attended by about 25 community members, revolved around a proposal to reduce the number of Council Chiefs to nine from the current twelve.

The meeting, using the Community Decision Making Process, featured two groups of participants. Group #2 quickly came to consensus to reduce the number to nine, while Group #1 deliberated much longer and presented a position to keep the status quo.

“I have to say that this was an excellent discussion, even though there was no consensus reached,” said MCK Technician Trina C. Diabo, who is the person who is responsible for the Election Law amendments. “Both groups came up with strong arguments to defend their positions. It became clear that both groups felt the need to link the number of Chiefs with the upcoming discussion on qualifications for holding office.”

Therefore, it was decided that the question of whether there should be Qualifications to Hold Office (and what those qualifications would be) will be the topic of discussion at the next Hearing, which will be held on Wednesday, 30 Onerahtókha/April 2014 from 6pm to 8:30pm at the Golden Age Club.

Those wishing to attend are urged to visit the www.kahnawakemakingdecisions.com website to view the first draft of the proposed amendments and other information related to the process.