NILSA Executive 2023/2024 Election is now closed!
Check back for our 2024/2025 Election in Fall 2024!
NILSA Executive Applications
a. Interested students are asked to fill out this form: [check back in Fall 2024]
b. If you are interested in applying for more than one position, please fill out the form for each position.
c. Each nominee will be asked to provide a bio explaining your Indigenous identity, experience, and interest in the position.
d. Applications for the NILSA Executive will be accepted until [check back in Fall 2024]
Nominations for election to the National Indigenous Law Students Executive will open on [check back Fall 2024]. Our Annual Election will be held during Student Day of the Indigenous Bar Association Conference for the following positions:
Executive Positions
1. President
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nation, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be in their second or third year of law at an accredited Canadian law school.
b. Duties:
i. Shall chair meetings of the organization and the Executive;
ii. Shall produce and circulate a meeting agenda prior to each Executive meeting;
iii. Shall serve as primary representative for the association;
iv. Shall serve as primary facilitator for the association;
v. Shall be a signing authority; and
vi. Shall make binding and deciding vote in the case of tie vote.
2. Vice-President First Nation
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nation ancestry; and
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school
1. Preference shall be given to candidates in their second or third year of study.
b. Duties
i. Shall actively promote the interests of First Nations culturally, socially, and politically;
ii. Shall ensure their vote on the Executive represents First Nation students interests; and
iii. Shall assume the role of President working concurrently with the Vice-Presidents Inuit and Métis if;
1. President becomes incapacitated; or
2. Emergency situations, requiring immediate action, arise.
3. Vice-President Inuit
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable Inuit ancestry; and
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school
1. Preference shall be given to candidates in their second or third year of study.
b. Duties
i. Shall actively promote the interests of Inuit culturally, socially, and politically;
ii. Shall ensure their vote on the Executive represents Inuit students interests; and
iii. Shall assume the role of President working concurrently with the Vice-Presidents First Nation and Métis if;
1. President becomes incapacitated, or
2. Emergency situations, requiring immediate action, arise.
4. Vice-President Métis
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school
1. Preference shall be given to candidates in their second or third year of study.
b. Duties:
i. Actively promote the interests of the Métis culturally, socially, and politically;
ii. Ensure their vote on the Executive represents Métis students interests; and
iii. Assume the role of President working concurrently with the Vice-Presidents First Nation and Inuit if;
1. President becomes incapacitated, or
2. Emergency situations, requiring immediate action, arise.
5. Vice-President Finance
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected,;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iv. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school
1. Preference shall be given to candidates in their second or third year of study.
b. Duties:
i. Shall prepare financial information for the year;
ii. Shall manage fundraising activities for the year;
iii. Shall keep accurate account of the Association’s assets;
iv. Shall manage day-to-day finances of the organization
a. Including maintenance of bank account(s);
v. Shall submit financial reports to the Executive upon request; and
vi. Shall be a signing authority.
6. Communications and Administration Councilor (Two [2] Positions)
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school.
b. Duties:
i. Shall prepare meeting minutes and related documents;
ii. Shall keep an ongoing listserv of members; and
iii. Shall manage email and social media accounts with direction from the Executive.
7. First Year Representative
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be a first year (1L) student at an accredited Canadian law school.
b. Duties:
i. Shall actively promote the interests of first year students;
ii. Shall serve on Executive as a representative for first year students;
iii. Shall act as liaison between the Association and first year students; and
iv. Shall ensure that the first-year student membership is apprised of all Association decisions and activities.
8. Second Year Representative
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be a second year (2L) student at an accredited Canadian law school.
b. Duties:
i. Shall actively promote the interests of first year students;
ii. Shall serve on Executive as a representative for first year students;
iii. Shall act as liaison between the Association and first year students; and
iv. Shall ensure that the first-year student membership is apprised of all Association decisions and activities.
9. Third Year Representative
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be a third year (3L) student at an accredited Canadian law school.
b. Duties:
i. Shall actively promote the interests of first year students;
ii. Shall serve on Executive as a representative for first year students;
iii. Shall act as liaison between the Association and first year students; and
iv. Shall ensure that the first-year student membership is apprised of all Association decisions and activities.
10. Articling Representative
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry; and
iii. Must be in an articling or clerkship position, LPP program or equivalent, as recognized by the law society of their province or territory
1. Preference shall be given to candidates that have served on past NILSA Executives
b. Duties:
i. Actively promote the interests of articling and clerkship students;
ii. Serve on Executive as a representative for articling and clerkship students;
iii. Act as liaison between the Association and articling and clerkship students; and
iv. Ensure that the articling and clerkship student membership is apprised of all Association decisions.
11. Civil Law/French Representative
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry;
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school; and
iv. Must be functionally bilingual in French and English.
b. Duties:
i. Actively promote the interests of French speaking Indigenous students studying Common Law, in English or French, and Civil law;
ii. Serve on the Executive as a representative of French speaking Indigenous students;
iii. Act as liaison between the Association and French speaking Indigenous students; and
iv. Ensure that the French speaking Indigenous student membership is apprised of all Association decisions.
12. Black/Indigenous Representative
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry;
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school; and
iv. Must identify as a member of the Black/Indigenous community.
b. Duties:
i. Actively promote the interests of Black/Indigenous law students;
ii. Serve on the Executive as a representative of Black/Indigenous students;
iii. Act as liaison between the Association and Black/Indigenous students; and
iv. Ensure that the Black/Indigenous student membership is apprised of all Association decisions.
13. Indigenous Bar Association Student Representative (Two [2]positions with a two [2] year term)
a. Qualifications:
i. Must be elected;
ii. Must be of verifiable First Nations, Inuit, or Métis ancestry;
iii. Must be a student at an accredited Canadian law school, or in an articling or clerkship position, LPP program or equivalent, as recognized by the law society of their province or territory.
b. Duties:
i. Serve as a representative of NILSA on the IBA’s Board of Directors;
ii. Provide updates to both the IBA and to the Executive; and
iii. Keep the Executive apprised of the work of the IBA.
Procedure
a. Current Indigenous students, whose ancestral ties are rooted in Turtle Island, enrolled at an accredited law school, with a university email and official faculty of law identification as issued by their respective university, shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each Executive position.
b. Unmarked ballots shall be provided by the Executive identifying correctly
i. The positions being contested, organized neatly to identify;
1. Every candidate’s full name; and
2. The candidate’s university; and
3. The candidate’s ties to their Indigenous nation/community.
c. The Executive shall procure an independent third party to act as Electoral Officer, who;
i. Will endeavor to keep the electoral process unbiased and fair;
ii. Will count every ballot cast; and
iii. Will provide the results to the preceding Executive immediately as they are available.
Voting
a. Voting will take place;
i. In person at the IBA Annual Conference’ Student Day; and/or
ii. Online, with valid identification sent in with ballot.
b. Voting instructions will be emailed in advance of the election. Voters should be prepared to present proper identification, whether by e-mail or in person.
Questions?
a. Please direct any questions about NILSA’s elections procedure to [email protected].
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