Tears after Federal Court ruling ends decades-long ‘dictatorship’ in northern Ontario First Nation – CBC

Apr 21, 2022

Judge orders referendum on new election code by the end of October

A self-appointed “chief for life,” who named his wife as successor upon his death to keep the leadership of a small First Nation in northern Ontario within his family, has been ousted following a Federal Court ruling delivered Thursday.

The ruling comes amid a years-long struggle between hereditary chief Edward Machimity, his family and community members of the Ojibway Nation of Saugeen who were stymied at every turn to challenge decades of hereditary rule and establish an election code.

Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond upheld the results of a two-day June 2019 leadership review held by the community under the band’s custom code that selected a new slate of chief and councillors — known as headmen.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/court-saugeen-dictatorship-1.6426801