(Photo Submitted/Dale Richardson)
Richardson Address

Questions raised over Buffalo Party candidate’s address, eligibility in Battlefords

Oct 17, 2024 | 7:00 AM

Questions of legal residency have been raised following the discovery that the address on the nomination papers for a Battlefords provincial candidate belongs to a property that he hasn’t owned in three years.

Dale Richardson is running to be the next MLA for the riding under the banner of the Buffalo Party of Saskatchewan but investigation by battlefordsNOW shows he may not live in Saskatchewan.

Court filings dated February. 19, 2021 show that Richardson was ordered to allow the sale of his home as part of a divorce action.The family home, located at 1292 95th Street, was sold and now has new owners.

Richardson is adamant that he is still the owner and said the sale of the home was “fraudulent.”

“That address is my house,” said Richardson via text, referring to the address that is also listed for his business, DSR Karis Consulting.

“No one has lawfully proved otherwise or taken steps to do that.”

Richardson is no stranger to the court system to the point he has been declared a ‘vexatious litigant’ and is limited from filing lawsuits in Saskatchewan, Alberta and in the Federal Court of Canada. A vexatious litigant is someone who has been identified for repeatedly filing frivolous legal proceedings without reasonable grounds.

A Saskatchewan judge ruled that Richardson’s former spouse would have the right to sell the property, which she did. The proceeds were dealt with as per the divorce court order.

Richardson filed an appeal to the decision, which was later dismissed, and in an email to battlefordsNOW said that the judge “Does not possess the inherent jurisdiction to dispose of property in a family matter under the land titles act, it is only under the family property act.”

According to Elections Saskatchewan, Richardson filed his papers with the returning officer well before the Sat., Oct. 12 deadline and after examining the papers, they were certified as valid.

“As this has taken place and the nomination deadline has passed, Elections Saskatchewan does not have authority to investigate this,” they said in a statement, when asked if the nomination is legal.

According to the Saskatchewan Election Act (1996), a candidate needs to have lived in the province for “for at least six months preceding the day the writ was issued.”

Meanwhile, Richardson said he has been a student since 2019, is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland and is now a student taking online classes through the University of Alberta. Being a student allows people to maintain their home province residency and live in another province for the duration of the schooling.

Phillip Michael Zajac, leader of the Buffalo Party, backed up Richardson’s stance.

“When you’re a student, you don’t declare your residency in the place where you’re going to university,” said Zajac, noting the party only requires a verified form of ID to run as a candidate and said it had been provided.

– With Files from Susan McNeil

julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On X: jls194864

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