AFN ex-CEO was sued by Indigenous health org over alleged 'reckless' payout in 2011
CBC
A former CEO of the Assembly of First Nations who was in charge when an AFN official allegedly received a nearly $200,000 payout was sued in 2011 by a now-defunct Indigenous health organization over her alleged offer of a "large and unwarranted" payout to an official there, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
Paulette Tremblay, a Six Nations of the Grand River member who lives in Ottawa, served as the AFN's CEO between September 2017 and January 2020.
The National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) sued her on Oct. 27, 2011, five months after she ceased to be its CEO, after its chief financial officer Jason Cheney launched a court bid to collect a $112,452 payout he claimed Tremblay offered him.
NAHO countersued Cheney and added Tremblay to the suit, claiming it withheld Cheney's cash after the not-for-profit's board came to believe the duo orchestrated the payment through collusion, "deceit and/or fraudulent misrepresentations" of facts.
Tremblay said she denies the accusations, although she didn't file a defence.
"First and foremost I would like to state unequivocally that there was no wrongdoing on my part in performing my job functions at the National Aboriginal Health Organization," she wrote in a letter to CBC News.
"Having left NAHO in July 2011, I was completely unaware of any actions of the organization related to the employee mentioned. I did not know about the lawsuit and the case was closed by the time it came to my attention, so it was not possible to provide a defence."
In the previously unreported lawsuit, NAHO alleged Tremblay approved an amendment to Cheney's contract and then, shortly after, terminated that contract while offering him one year's salary as severance — all without disclosing this information to the board.
NAHO alleged Cheney prepared his own cheque, Tremblay signed it, and Cheney then applied the signature block of NAHO's treasurer Oliver Okemow to it "without Okemow's knowledge or consent" to obtain the cash.
The lawsuit claimed NAHO then discovered and withheld the payment, calling it "reckless, wholly unwarranted and obviously contrary to the best interests of NAHO."
NAHO alleged Tremblay and Cheney committed "unconscionable" breaches of policy, fiduciary duty, loyalty and trust. The claim said Tremblay's actions "put the organization's existence in jeopardy" and "placed the financial stability of NAHO at risk."
The allegations were never proven in court.
The case reached a mediated out-of-court settlement on Nov. 25, 2011, filings say. CBC News was unable to learn the settlement's details despite asking Tremblay and making repeated attempts to contact Cheney and other parties.
The suit was dismissed without costs on April 2, 2012 with consent from all involved, including Tremblay, who signed a document agreeing to the dismissal.
