Northern Quebec Cree voters left behind despite promise of access

Elections Canada promises that anyone, anywhere, could vote during advance polls. However, voters in Northern Quebec Cree communities found that polling stations were closed.

It's the latest in a list of stories from community members in northern Quebec who say they had trouble voting or couldn't do so at all. On election day, some Nunavik communities had polling stations that closed early or didn't open at all.

Guy Beaulieu, a resident of Whapmagoostui, arrived at the local sports complex with his spouse on April 19 expecting to vote, but discovered that the front doors were locked during the weekend of advance polls. The voter information card he'd got in the mail said advance polls were supposed to be held from April 18 to 21, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

"There was no poster on the building and no signs, the door was locked. [We] even went back the next day, but [there was] still nothing," said Beaulieu, who is originally from Val d'Or, Que. 

Beaulieu said he'd wanted to vote in the advance polls because he did not want to miss his chance to cast his ballot for his local riding before he took off for medical travel on election day.

"I was not surprised because up north it seems that happens pretty often," said Beaulieu of the issues he encountered. 

Whapmagoostui is the only Cree community accessible only by plane. Due to rainy weather over the weekend, some flights were postponed, including those for polling staff who were meant to set up polling stations. 

Chisasibi, another northern Cree community, also had delays in voting opportunities during the advance polls.

Norman A. Wapachee, who has been a politician for the Cree Nation government for a few years, says that these things have been happening for years, especially further north in Nunavik.  

"It's a promise that needs to be upheld even when certain circumstances occur. We need to find ways to uphold that promise," said Wapachee, who is the interim grand chief of Eeyou Istchee.

Wapachee said he'd tried numerous times to reach out to Sylvie Bérubé, the former MP for the Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou riding. 

"[Elections Canada] should come fly in early, stay throughout the elections to carry out their roles and their responsibilities to open the doors for elections," said Wapachee.

That's one way Wapachee hopes the federal government can better its efforts to give northern communities the same opportunities to vote as the rest of the country. 

Now that the riding is represented by Mandy Gull-Masty, Cree from Waswanipi, former Cree grand chief and a former colleague of Wapachee, he hopes that the voting experience — among other things — will change soon.

"I was hoping for an Indigenous person who's going to speak on behalf of the Indigenous population, because it's a vast area and the population is not that high," said Wapachee.

In Nunavik communities this week, residents spoke out about not being able to vote, and Inuit organizations called for an investigation. Soon after, Elections Canada issued an apology and said it would review the circumstances around the situation.

"If you don't say anything, nothing is going to change. You need to always use your voice, that's the power [our votes] have, to put someone in the MP position to change things," said Beaulieu. 

Beaulieu said he hopes Elections Canada gets better at delivering promised opportunities to vote across the country, especially in northern fly-in communities like Whapmagoostui. 

"If you promise something, if you say something, you have to stick to your word," said Beaulieu.