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Federal court judge rules in favour of Acho Dene Koe First Nation member’s complaint about election delay

A federal court judge has ruled that the N.W.T. Acho Dene Koe First Nation chief and council overstepped their powers when they extended their term of office last year. The judgment could have ramifications for other First Nations whose elections were postponed or cancelled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Acho Dene Koe First Nation government offices are in Fort Liard, N.W.T., where most of its 550 or so members also live. The First Nation is not governed by Indian Act regulations around the election of chief and council. Through a series of resolutions passed by the Acho Dene Koe First Nation between April 20 and Dec. 7, 2020, a regular election for chief and council scheduled for June 8, 2020 was postponed until April 14, 2021, and then later to April 21 after an outbreak of COVID-19 in the community of Fort Liard, N.W.T. Regulations authorized deferral, chief and council say Chief and council justified the deferral of the election — and the extension of their terms of office — by saying they were able to do so according to their own customs, and that they were authorized to do so under the First Nations Election Cancellation and Postponement Regulations which came into force on April 8, 2020. That temporary regulatory option under the Indian Act and the First Nations Election Act was introduced by the federal government to protect the health of First Nations communities during the pandemic. In a statement at the time, Minister of Indigenous Services Marc Miller said, “We have recommended that First Nations with upcoming elections not proceed with elections at this time, due to the current public health risks associated with large gatherings.” The regulations, Miller stated, allowed “First Nations leaders to continue exercising their roles and duties within their communities for up to six months, with a potential extension for an additional six months, as they focus on keeping their communities safe in the face of COVID-19.” Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond acknowledged in his April 1 ruling that those regulations allowed First Nations whose elections are governed by the Indian Act and the First Nations Elections act, to “cancel or postpone elections and to extend the term of their council” in light of the public health emergency. The council of Acho Dene Koe First Nation did not have the power to extend its own term of office. – Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond Section 4 of those regulations allow for a First Nation governed by its own custom election code, such as the Acho Dene Koe First Nation, to do the same “if it is necessary to prevent, mitigate or control the spread of diseases on its reserve, even if custom does not provide for such a situation.” Legal challenge claimed section of regulations invalid But on Oct. 22, 2020, Acho Dene Koe First Nation member and former chief Floyd Bertrand filed a legal challenge to chief and council’s decision to postpone the election, arguing, among other things, that the regulations outlined in Section 4 are invalid, and that Acho Dene Koe election customs do not allow chief and council to extend their terms, or to postpone an election. Justice Grammond agreed with Bertrand on both counts. “Acho Dene Koe’s customary law requires elections to take place every three years and does not authorize the council to extend its own term of office,” Grammond wrote. “The council of Acho Dene Koe First Nation did not have the power to extend its own term of office.” In reaching this conclusion, Grammond considered and rejected arguments made by the First Nation in support of its authority to extend terms of office. Among those arguments was the notion that under principles of self-government, the Acho Dene Koe were within their rights to be flexible on election customs. But Grammond wrote that “self-government does not translate into unlimited powers for First Nations councils.” “Rather, where First Nations have not enacted positivistic laws, self-government manifests itself through the broad consensus of the community.” Fort Liard, N.W.T., is the base for Acho Dene Koe First Nation.(Alex Brockman/CBC) Grammond cited the three-year term of the previous four elections in the community as evidence for a three-year term being the Acho Dene Koe custom. Grammond found no evidence of broad community support for the idea that council could extend its term of office without an election. “Any assertion of ‘flexibility’ or an open-ended power to extend the term of office must be tested against what we know of the community’s views…. Acho Dene Koe members expect to have the opportunity to choose their leaders at fixed intervals,” Grammond wrote. “For more than a decade, the interval has been three years.” Section 4 of regulations invalid: Justice After concluding Acho Dene Koe customs do not allow for council to extend its term of office, Grammond considered arguments around the notion that the First Nation was authorized under Section 4 of the First Nations Election Cancellation and Postponement Regulations to make the extension in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. After reviewing case law, Justice Grammond concluded that the federal cabinet overstepped its powers under the Indian Act when it enacted the regulations, and that Section 4 of the regulations — Elections According to Custom — is invalid, regardless of how well-intended the regulations or their application may be. Grammond wrote that despite the government’s intention to fight the pandemic by allowing First Nations to cancel or postpone elections, it did not have the right to do so under the Indian Act. Fixed or maximum terms of office are crucial components of democracy. – Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond “In a nutshell, the government is asking me to tolerate an invalid exercise of power because it was done for a good reason,” Grammond wrote. “This is simply incompatible with the rule of law, which requires that every exercise of state power find its source in legal rule … Going down that road would involve courts in giving their blessing, after the fact, to unlawful government action based on its desirability from a policy perspective.” By ruling Section 4 invalid, Justice Grammond did not have to consider other objections raised by Bertrand regarding the application of the regulations in Fort Liard. In his judgment, Grammond noted that “for members of the many First Nations who have chosen to select their leaders by democratic means, the ability to vote is a fundamental interest…. Fixed or maximum terms of office are crucial components of democracy.” In his decision, Grammond ruled that with elections in Fort Liard among Acho Dene Koe members expected shortly, there was no need to quash the original decision to extend the term of council’s office. Other First Nation members may have been deprived of right to vote Grammond wrote that, despite the close proximity of the election to his ruling, which could be understood to render the need for a ruling moot, he took on the case for its other merits. First, Grammond wrote that the case would “clarify important issues with respect to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on First Nation’s electoral processes” in the context of the validity of the First Nations Election Cancellation and Postponement Regulations. Second, Grammond wrote that the case clarified the Acho Dene Koe First Nation’s right to postpone elections in the future, if the regulations in question are renewed. Grammond wrote that he was asked by the attorney general to suspend his decision on the invalidity of the regulations for 90 days, while Bertrand asked for any suspension to not exceed 30 days. “I am sensitive to the implications of this judgment not only on the federal government, but also on First Nations that may have availed themselves of the powers granted by the Regulations and will have to hold elections on short notice,” Grammond wrote. “On the other hand, I cannot ignore the fact that members of such First Nations have been illegally deprived of the opportunity to vote for the selection of their leaders.” Grammond suspended the declaration of invalidity for 60 days, as of April 1.

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Apple announces Worldwide Developers Conference dates, in-person event – CityNews Toronto

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Apple has announced their annual developers conference will take place June 10 through June 14.

The big summer event will be live-streamed, but some select developers have been invited to attend in-person events at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California, on June 10.

The company typically showcases their latest software and product updates — including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AppleTV and Vision Pro headset — during a keynote address on the first day.

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Contributing to a drop in Apple’s stock price this year is concern it lags behind Microsoft and Google in the push to develop products powered by artificial intelligence technology. While Apple tends to keep its product development close to the vest, CEO Tim Cook signaled at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in February that it has been making big investments in generative AI and plans to disclose more later this year.

The week-long conference will have opportunities for developers to connect with Apple designers and engineers to gain insight into new tools, frameworks and features, according to the company’s announcement.

The Associated Press

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iPhone 16 Rumors Point to Action Button and New, Vertical Camera Layout – CNET

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The upcoming iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are still months away from their expected launch this fall, but a new set of images published online may give us a better sense of their potential features. Among the revelations, the iPhone 16 may include an action button, similar to the one on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, and it may have redesigned cameras in a vertical stack.

AppleInsider published a series of photos it says show dummy 3D prints of the upcoming iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro from an unnamed leaker. Aside from the action button and reworked cameras on the iPhone 16, AppleInsider also said its source found the iPhone 16 Pro to be “slightly larger” than its predecessor. Analysts had earlier said they expect the Pro model screens will grow somewhat.

Read more: iPhone 16: All the Major Rumors on Apple’s Next iPhone

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The new details suggest that a series of expected hardware updates are likely for this year’s new iPhones. Apple typically announces new iPhones around September, and the company tends to offer incremental upgrades to each new phone, introducing, over the period of several years, better cameras, screens and battery life, features that end up seeming like major upgrades when people get around to buying a new phone

Last year, Apple added a new titanium frame, action button and USB-C charging to its iPhone 15 Pro, which starts at $999. For its entry-level iPhone, Apple followed its well-worn strategy of trickling pro features down to the mainstream, adding the iPhone 14 Pro’s well-received Dynamic Island to the $799 iPhone 15, along with USB-C charging.

AppleInsider didn’t indicate whether its leaker had divined a reason for the iPhone 16’s shifted camera placements, but the two lenses will now reportedly be stacked one on top of the other, instead of diagonally. Apple has previously said it uses stacked lenses on the iPhone 15 Pro for spatial video capture, a key new technology the company highlighted as part of its $3,499 Apple Vision Pro headset, released in February.

Though AppleInsider’s leaks appear to confirm many previous rumors, not all renders and 3D prints are accurate, something the rumor blog notes itself in its report. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the veracity of the leaks.

Watch this: What Google Gemini AI on the iPhone Could Look Like

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I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

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Leaked iPhone 16 dummy units hint at larger sizes and new buttons

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The iPhone 15 Pro Max, with a 6.7-inch screen
(Image credit: Future)

We’re already counting down to the arrival of the iPhone 16 series – most probably sometime in September – and a leak showing dummy units of the upcoming phones has revealed a few of the changes we can expect to see later this year.

These dummy units are usually based on supply chain information, and have various business uses – like helping case manufacturers get their wares ready for new phones before they’re launched, for example. In this case, the images were posted to Chinese social network Weibo, as spotted by MacRumors.

Perhaps the most interesting reveal from these blocks of plastic and metal is that they show the previously rumored increase in size for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays – up to 6.3 inches (from 6.1 inches) and 6.9 inches (from 6.7 inches) respectively.

That’s not a huge jump of course, but it does mean more screen space for apps and media. The bezels are apparently shrinking down to accommodate the larger screens, which means the increase in the physical size of these handsets is only a slight one.

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On the button

iPhone 16 dummy units leak

The next iPhones might look a bit like this, but less blue (Image credit: Weibo)

Further reveals from this leak match up with what we’ve heard before: that all four models are going to get the Action button that replaced the Ring/Silent switch on the 2023 Pro models, as well as a brand-new Capture button for getting more creative with photos.

Also of note is the redesigned rear camera module that we think is coming to the back of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. The new vertical, pill-shaped look has been leaked already, but this is more evidence that it’s on the way – taking us back to a design that’s more reminiscent of the iPhone 12, which came out in 2020.

As always with such rumors, be somewhat cautious about reading too much into the look of these dummy units. That said, as more and more similar leaks pile up, it becomes more likely that they’re based on accurate information.

The next big Apple date for your calendar is WWDC 2024 – its Worldwide Developers Conference starts on June 10, at which time we should hear much more about what’s coming this year with iOS 18 and Apple’s other software platforms.

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Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

Leaked iPhone 16 dummy units hint at larger sizes and new buttons

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