RoseAnne Archibald ousted as AFN National Chief

RoseAnne Archibald, the national head of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), has been removed by a vote of no confidence seven months before the end of her three-year term and after months of internal rows.

Archibald’s fate was decided during a one-day private day encounter of the Special Chiefs Assembly, held virtually on June 28 and attended by chiefs and proxies. There were two resolutions before the council: one to have the national chief removed, and one to call on her to serve out her term until 2024.

Shortly after the vote, the AFN issued a press release advising the decision to oust the chief.

The motion to to delete Archibald, introduced by Chiefs Irene Kells, of Ontario’s Zhiibaahaasing First Nation, and Kyra Wilson, of Manitoba’s Long Plains First Nation, passed with 163 votes, or 71 percent of the votes cast. The motion required 60 percent support. A total of 231 votes were cast and there were 62 votes against the chief’s resignation.

“After review of the Investigation Summary Report and hearing with National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, First Nations-in-Assembly accepted the report and ordered the removal of RoseAnne Archibald from the position of National Chief,” stated AFN Nova Scotia Regional Chief Paul Prosper.

“This decision was made due to her violation of the Whistleblowing Policy and violation of the Executive Committee Code of Conduct. As a result, the position of National Chief will remain vacant until an interim National Chief is selected from the Executive Committee. As indicated by First Nations-in-Assembly, an election will be scheduled for the December 2023 SCA.”

Allegations

The final special meeting leading to Archibald’s removal was convened after an independent personnel meeting research. Four senior female staffers filed misconduct complaints involving Archibald, and AFN’s then-CEO also filed one. The investigator was an Ottawa labor attorney who said she concluded Archibald harassed two of the individuals who complained and retaliated against all five.

After the investigation, it was recommended that the national chief be removed from her position, which she began in July 2021.

In June 2022, the AFN charged Archibald with “serious breaches of its obligations to the AFN through baseless and unsubstantiated public attacks on the integrity of our organization and our employees that will only serve to promote the good work we do while serving our customers.” continue to serve. First Nations communities,” said spokesman Paul Prosper, a regional chief.

Archibald allegedly violated the confidentiality requirements of the AFN’s Harassment Policy, Whistleblowing Policy, and AFN’s Code of Conduct and Ethics for the Executive Committee. She released a statement at the time claiming that four of the complaints were filed against her after she rejected demands for $1 million in employee payouts. She said at the time: “This is the second time I have suffered a smear campaign as a result of my relentless search for the truth.”

On June 16, 2022, the national chief asked for an independent eight-year audit of the AFN, suggesting it had become a target for making changes to address alleged corruption in the system, after calling for financial reviews of the organization as far back as February 2021.

“I hope people can see the toxic pattern in the AFN,” she said said at the time. “The background deals, large payouts to staff and other documented incidents of corruption and collusion have led us to lose sight of our common goal: to fight for the collective rights of more than 900,000 Indigenous peoples living in more than 600 First Nations communities. communities, towns and villages on Turtle Island,” she wrote in a statement posted on social media.

Internal quarrels

In a June 17, 2022, statement, Archibald claimed that AFN personnel launched “fictitious attacks” against her. She also said she lost access to her email and only learned of her suspension through media reports. She called these events “an apparently staged coup.”

The chief filed a court order to have the suspension overturned, but according to to the AFN, the Superior Court of Ontario declined to intervene as the Chiefs in Assembly had not yet met. At the time, Prosper said, “We are sorry that the National Chief has chosen the path of confronting the colonial court to resolve this. This matter has no place for lawyers or the courts. This matter is rightfully presented to the First Nations to address.”

At a July 2022 general meeting in Vancouver, Archibald’s suspension was rejected and a financial review of the government-funded organization was ordered.

The Canadian Press and Lee Harding contributed to this report.