Membertou keeps chief, council

Band members have returned Chief Terry Paul and the councillors back to power in Membertou, the growing Mi'kmaq community on the outskirts of Sydney.

Paul, who has been chief for 21 years, defeated Andre Denny with 441 votes to 40 in Tuesday's band election.

The nine incumbent councillors will be joined by John H. Paul and Darrell Bernard, filling one vacant seat and another that was added due to population growth.

Membertou is considered an aboriginal success story in Nova Scotia, as well as in Canada. It has an operating budget of $75 million, and new homes, business centres and roads are in the works.

"I think a lot of people have a lot of interest in the community, with our development. It seems to me they're satisfied with what's happening," said Jane Bernard, Membertou's electoral officer.

The voter turnout was about 74 per cent, she said.

The election comes on the heels of a shakeup in the band office. The chief financial officer was let go, along with John H. Paul, who was the community's director of housing.

Roddie Christmas, a 19-year-old who lives in the community, said it didn't seem to have been an election issue.

"Membertou seems to be doing well," said Christmas. "I just would have liked to see some younger faces."

More changes needed, critics say

Another Membertou resident, Edward Christmas, said the community needs an overall change in chief and council because there are too many non-natives working on the reserve.

"Nobody's speaking up about it," Christmas said.

"We are making great strides pertaining to making money on this reserve," he said, "but with that type of change comes drawbacks. People are getting narcissistic and forgetting where they're coming from."

The next band election will be held in 2008.