Three people are running for two councillor spots and two for the deputy chief councillor position as Nee Tahi Buhn Band members prepare to go to the polls July 19.
The byelections were made necessary because of vacancies following the resignations of the previous deputy chief and two councillors, leaving the band with just current chief councillor Raymond Morris as the sole elected official.
Nomination papers indicate cross overs among those who are running and who nominated them.
Seeking to replace deputy chief Cody Reid, who resigned his position this year, is Frank Morris and Patricia Prince who had been a councillor until she also resigned this year.
Morris was nominated by chief councillor Raymond Morris and seconded by Mary Ann Hines. Prince was nominated by Laura Morris and seconded by Julia Morris.
There are three people running for the two council positions. Brianna Adolph was nominated by Laura Morris and seconded by Julia Morris while Mary Ann Hines was nominated by Raymond Morris and seconded by Terri Lynn Peterson and Mark David Morris was nominated by Mary Ann Hines and Simone Ashlea Morris.
The resignations which prompted the byelections come amidst reports of discord within the council and questions about band management practices.
The Nee Tahi Buhn Band located on the Southside is one of the smaller ones in the area with approximately 155 members.
The Nee Tahi Buhn band does receive an annual budget from the federal government for general government, health and education services as well as a share of provincial forest revenue from activities on its traditional territories.
It has also been a financial benefeciary of payments from TransCanada which will build the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Kitimat to feed the planned LNG Canada liquefied natural gas plant there should a construction decision be made by LNG Canada’s owners.
Two weeks ago TransCanada announced a series of conditional contracts to First Nations tied to the Coastal GasLink pipeline project should LNG Canada decide to build its plant. The contract list included the Nee Tahi Buhn Band.