In November 2024, the Tsawwassen Legislature passed a resolution approving in-principle a new version of the Election Act, subject to extensive community consultation and a thorough review of the proposed Act at a meeting of Tsawwassen Members. In addition to the resolution approving the new Election Act in principle, the Legislature passed a second resolution detailing the level of consultation required before the new Act would be formally voted on in Fall 2025. This resolution for consultation included community meetings on Tsawwassen Lands, family meetings, virtual meetings, engagement with Youth and Elders, surveys, and engagement sessions in Vernon and Bellingham. This report summarizes the Member feedback provided at some of the consultations requested by the Legislator resolution, including:

• Nine Family Meetings conducted between March 2025 and May 2025
• On-Lands engagement session held on May 27, 2025
• Bellingham engagement session held on May 31, 2025
• Vernon engagement session held on June 6, 2025
• Virtual Engagement session held on June 10, 2025

A total of 79 Members participated in at least one of these engagement sessions.

Engagement content

At each of the engagement sessions, staff provided Members with an overview of the proposed changes, the background reasoning behind the proposed changes, and a summary of the engagement and work done to date. The focus of the overview was on the changes that would be most directly noticeable by Members, including changes to:

• Reduce the number of by-elections held close to other elections
• Enable electronic voting
• Modernize the rules for campaign advertising

In addition to discussion on the proposed changes to the Election Act, staff also engaged Members on potential changes to the size of the Tsawwassen Legislature. While the size of the Legislature is not determined by the Election Act, it is a related issue that has recently become relevant due to TFN reaching a population of 550 Members.

Purpose of this report

This goal of this document is to provide Executive Council with the feedback provided by Members during engagement sessions held between March and June of 2025. Based on this feedback, Executive Council may make further adjustments to the proposed new Election Act before it is formally introduced to the Tsawwassen Legislature at the Fall 2025 Legislative session.

Within the category of changes related to reducing the number of by-elections held close to other elections, staff discussed three different changes being introduced in the new Election Act. These were

• Early vacancies: Introducing provisions for a by-election not to be held when Legislator vacancy occurs within 45 days of a general election and instead appointing the next runner-up from the most recent general election.
• Late vacancies: Changing the period for not holding by-elections for vacancies late in the legislative term from any time in the final six months to any time after January 1^st of an election year, as well as providing Executive Council with discretion as to whether a late by-election will be held.
• By-election window: Changing the period in which a by-election can be held from 90 days to 180 days, as well as requiring that by-elections be held on a Saturday.

Overall, Members were generally supportive of the changes to reduce the number of by-elections held close to other elections. There was unanimous support among participants for the introduction of provisions that would allow TFN to appoint a runner-up from the general election for vacancies that occur within 45 days of a general election. Members viewed the cost savings of not holding a by-election and the ability to quickly fill a vacancy in the Legislature as major benefits to introducing this approach.

Almost all the engagement participants expressed support for the changes regarding late vacancies, with only one family expressing concerns. While the family supported the proposed change in date, they disagreed with providing EC discretion as to whether the by-election should be held. The family suggested that not holding a by-election should be automatic unless it is required for quorum.

Most participants expressed support for increasing the window for holding by-elections. One Member pointed out that a longer window could be especially beneficial for Members who live off-lands. That Member cited a previous instance when a by-election was held, and they did not become aware until after the by-election had already passed. Two families expressed concern regarding the increased window. One family suggested that 90-days provided sufficient time to conduct the election and stated that a longer vacancy in the Legislature was problematic because it would result in an even number of Legislators. Another family felt that six months was too long to have a seat remain open.

The majority of Members participating in the engagements were in favour of electronic voting, although the strength of support for electronic voting was lower relative to the support for the by-election changes. Several Members cited increased accessibility, especially for Members living off-Lands and in the United States, as a key benefit of electronic voting. One Member stated that “we can’t get electronic voting in place soon enough” and was hopeful that it would be a step toward improving accessibility for off-Lands Members by adopting electronic IDs, information systems, and benefit forms. Another Member noted that there could be benefits for Elders or Members with mobility challenges by allowing them to vote from their homes. Some Members were hopeful that the increased accessibility would lead to an increased voter turnout if electronic voting were implemented at the next election.

Several Members expressed that electronic voting would be beneficial because it would reduce TFN’s reliance on the postal system for elections. Members pointed to the unreliability of the postal system, the risk of elections being interrupted by postal worker strikes, the possibility of mail being sent to the wrong address or stolen, the challenges of sending mail across the border, and the tendency for people to not update their mailing address as challenges with the mail voting being the only system available for Members living off-Lands. One Member family suggested that the high cost of mail meant that using electronic voting might help reduce costs. Two Members suggested that electronic voting would leave less room for error because it would be more difficult to incorrectly fill out a ballot or submit the wrong documentation.

One family strongly opposed the introduction of electronic voting due to concerns around the possibility of individuals taking the voting materials belonging to others and using them to cast votes in another person's name. The family suggested that voting should be in-person only and suggested that TFN should investigate the possibility of allowing leaseholders to vote, but not run as candidates, in TFN elections.

The importance of electronic voting security measures was raised by many Members, regardless of their stance on whether electronic voting should be implemented. One Member emphasized the importance of ensuring Member’s personal information was stored securely and provided examples of First Nations communities that had experienced data breaches in the past. Some Members highlighted the importance of having security measures in place to prevent interference with the electronic voting process. Several Members expressed concerns regarding the potential for an individual to use a stolen ballot to vote in the name of a Member.

In addition to security measures, Members also provided feedback on other elements of an electronic voting system. One family raised the importance of having an audit procedure in place to verify the results of the system. A Member noted that if voter identity is confirmed using a unique PIN, a practice commonly used in electronic voting, that TFN should have a plan in place in case voters lose their PINs. One Member suggested that concerns arounds security might be alleviated by creating a Member committee to provide additional oversight of the procurement process.

Participants were generally in favour of removing the specific references to mail-based campaign advertising from the law and instead allowing the rules for campaign advertising to be set out in a regulation. Most Members agreed that TFN should update its campaign advertising rules to address electronic forms of communication and advertising. One Member expressed concerns about the use of social media and was particularly concerned over the use of negative comments. A Member suggested that one way to address concerns around social media advertising was to have all social media-based advertising shared via TFN Government channels.

A Member expressed that flowing advertising through the Election Officer helped ensure fairness for all candidates and that the regulations need to ensure that there is a level playing field for all Members. The Member suggested that the regulations should include a defined campaign period to help ensure that Member staff do not make use of TFN Government resources to benefit their advertising and campaigning. Another Member stated that the inappropriate campaign practices have been used in the past and the regulations need to have boundaries regarding content and the campaign period. The Member also expressed concern that some candidates have shared no advertising or information in the past.

Member feedback on increasing the size of the Legislature was mixed. Several Members highlighted the benefits of adding another seat to the Legislature, including increased representation, bringing additional knowledge to the legislative table, and the potential to increase interest in politics among Members. One Member asked about the potential for the additional seat to be reserved for a youth representative. Participants also expressed a variety of concerns regarding the additional seat, including costs, the potential for family overrepresentation, the potential for too many voices to slow legislative sessions, and the shift to an even number of Legislators.

Some Members stated that the number of Legislators was too high relative to the size of TFN’s population and that it might be more appropriate to wait for TFN’s population to grow further before an additional seat is considered. One Member suggested that increasing the size would only be appropriate if the candidate pool was large enough and that having only five candidates unelected in the 2022 general election indicated that TFN should wait for its population to grow further. Another Member pointed out that the ratio of elected officials to Members is much higher at TFN when compared to the ratios of other governments.

The topic of increasing the size of Executive Council was raised several times during the engagement period. One family suggested that they would be more receptive to increasing the size of the Legislature if the size of Executive Council was increased at the same time. Several families asked about the process for increasing the size of Executive Council and what was permissible under TFN’s Constitution. Some Members expressed that it would be more appropriate to increase the size of Executive Council due to their meeting frequency and the higher workload. Members also suggested that increasing the size of Executive Council could improve family representation.

In addition to the main discussion items, Members provided valuable feedback on other aspects of the TFN’s election process. Some Members reiterated the importance of training and education sessions for Legislature candidates so that they understand their roles and responsibilities if they are elected. One Member expressed that they would like to see Legislators more active in the community and present at more community events. A family suggested that increasing the size of the Legislature should be contingent on the implementation of an education requirement. Some Members expressed that they would like to hear more in-depth discussion during Legislative sessions. A Member recommended that coffee, juice and snacks be made available on election night due to the length of time it takes to determine election results.

While staff have engaged with Youth and Elders through the family and community meetings, dedicated Youth and Elder engagements will be held in Summer 2025. A survey informed by the Member feedback collected to date will be launched in September 2025 and promoted at the Member’s Gathering. A revised draft of the proposed Election Act that incorporates the Member feedback from the engagement sessions will be made available for Member review at a meeting of Advisory Council Fall 2025.

Conclusion

We would like to thank all the Members who participated in the family meetings and community engagement sessions for their input on the proposed changes to the Election Act. The findings of this report will continue guiding the development of the new Election Act over the summer and prepare for the formal introduction of the Act at the fall 2025 Legislature session. If you have any questions about the Election Act or about the findings of this report, please contact Connor Hasegawa, Policy Analyst at chasegawa@tsawwassenfirstnation.com or 604-842-8806.

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