The Assembly of First Nations is facing controversy as it hosts its 43rd Annual General Assembly in Vancouver starting Tuesday as the AFN’s executive committee wants chiefs to ratify and extend the suspension of its national chief..On June 16, National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said in a statement she’d been persecuted for investigating AFN corruption. The next day, the AFN’s executive committee suspended her with pay, pending an investigation into four complaints lodged against her by her staff. The AFN also said making public allegations breached the AFN’s code of conduct and its whistleblower policy..In a June 17 statement, Archibald said AFN staff had made “fictitious attacks” against her in what she called “a seemingly staged coup” after refusing to sign off on staff payouts worth more than $1 million. She said she was locked out of her email and found out about her suspension through the media..Ken Coates, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Public Policy, says the situation with Archibald will be “a matter of great conversation” at the meetings..“She still has the official title [of national chief]. She's been suspended, which is very unusual and very unique, and we're not quite sure what it means. But she's not a person without substantial backing across the country as a whole. And I think this situation is one that is going to resolve itself in the next couple of weeks,” Coates said in an interview with the Western Standard..“This is a female national chief, so that in itself is a new phenomenon for the organization. And so the level of scrutiny of this activity will be greater than it would be ordinarily.”.Archibald tried to get a hearing before the Ontario Superior Court prior to the AFN general assembly and alleged the executive committee lacks the power to suspend her. She also called for a forensic audit of the organization’s finances over the past eight years. However, the judge sided with AFN arguments that they should deal with the matter internally..“This decision … does not support the claims that our actions were illegal or outside our authority,” Regional Chief Paul Prosper said in a statement. “We are sorry that the national chief chose the path of colonial court confrontation to resolve this..Coates said “the accusations are going in both directions” and he would not speculate on which side was right..“I would just simply say this, the national chief has access to records that I'll never see. She's raised the issues when she's seen the documentation, so I don't think you should take it lightly,” Coates said..“When she ran to be the national chief, she said, 'I will shine a spotlight into the corners.' And so she's actually just doing what she said she would be doing.”.The situation reminds Coates of a situation that hounded the final days of the Chretien government and the brief rule by Paul Martin..“This is like the sponsorship scandal for the Liberal Party a number of years ago. These things raise all sorts of debates and questions, and it's messy, and it's impolite at times, and it's very upsetting for everybody,” Coates said..“These kinds of issues, these kinds of approaches always cause controversy. It doesn't matter what level of government you're talking about, what level of organization. People feel accused even if they've done nothing wrong. It may be two people in the organization who've done some bad things, or maybe one person, but everybody else feels tainted by it. And so it gets people's backs up very quickly.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
The Assembly of First Nations is facing controversy as it hosts its 43rd Annual General Assembly in Vancouver starting Tuesday as the AFN’s executive committee wants chiefs to ratify and extend the suspension of its national chief..On June 16, National Chief RoseAnne Archibald said in a statement she’d been persecuted for investigating AFN corruption. The next day, the AFN’s executive committee suspended her with pay, pending an investigation into four complaints lodged against her by her staff. The AFN also said making public allegations breached the AFN’s code of conduct and its whistleblower policy..In a June 17 statement, Archibald said AFN staff had made “fictitious attacks” against her in what she called “a seemingly staged coup” after refusing to sign off on staff payouts worth more than $1 million. She said she was locked out of her email and found out about her suspension through the media..Ken Coates, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Public Policy, says the situation with Archibald will be “a matter of great conversation” at the meetings..“She still has the official title [of national chief]. She's been suspended, which is very unusual and very unique, and we're not quite sure what it means. But she's not a person without substantial backing across the country as a whole. And I think this situation is one that is going to resolve itself in the next couple of weeks,” Coates said in an interview with the Western Standard..“This is a female national chief, so that in itself is a new phenomenon for the organization. And so the level of scrutiny of this activity will be greater than it would be ordinarily.”.Archibald tried to get a hearing before the Ontario Superior Court prior to the AFN general assembly and alleged the executive committee lacks the power to suspend her. She also called for a forensic audit of the organization’s finances over the past eight years. However, the judge sided with AFN arguments that they should deal with the matter internally..“This decision … does not support the claims that our actions were illegal or outside our authority,” Regional Chief Paul Prosper said in a statement. “We are sorry that the national chief chose the path of colonial court confrontation to resolve this..Coates said “the accusations are going in both directions” and he would not speculate on which side was right..“I would just simply say this, the national chief has access to records that I'll never see. She's raised the issues when she's seen the documentation, so I don't think you should take it lightly,” Coates said..“When she ran to be the national chief, she said, 'I will shine a spotlight into the corners.' And so she's actually just doing what she said she would be doing.”.The situation reminds Coates of a situation that hounded the final days of the Chretien government and the brief rule by Paul Martin..“This is like the sponsorship scandal for the Liberal Party a number of years ago. These things raise all sorts of debates and questions, and it's messy, and it's impolite at times, and it's very upsetting for everybody,” Coates said..“These kinds of issues, these kinds of approaches always cause controversy. It doesn't matter what level of government you're talking about, what level of organization. People feel accused even if they've done nothing wrong. It may be two people in the organization who've done some bad things, or maybe one person, but everybody else feels tainted by it. And so it gets people's backs up very quickly.”.This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.