Assembly of First Nations in uncharted territory as annual assembly begins in Halifax
CBC
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) kicks off its 44th annual general assembly in Halifax on Tuesday, and it remains to be seen whether it will get back to business, or if the group's fractious leadership dispute will dominate the agenda.
National Chief RoseAnne Archibald was ousted at a June 28 virtual assembly in a vote attended by 231 delegates — less than half the 634 First Nations eligible. There are still 400 eligible chiefs who didn't have their say.
Archibald, who is Cree, from Taykwa Tagamou Nation in northern Ontario, and the first woman to win the job, suggested her ouster was a coup fuelled by Liberal partisans and her predecessor's loyalists. She has urged sympathetic chiefs to head for Halifax and reverse the decision, and has called for a probe into government meddling in assembly affairs.
Declining interview requests, Archibald vowed in a statement issued late Monday night to attend Day 1 of the meeting online, and potentially still travel to Halifax later this week. She called the appointment of New Brunswick Regional Chief Joanna Bernard as interim national chief "marred by conflict of interest and a laterally violent coup against me as the first duly elected female National Chief."
To remove a national chief, the AFN charter requires 60 per cent of those in attendance to adopt a non-confidence motion. It doesn't mention the prospect of appeal. The group's corporate bylaws say the removal of a board member is final.
Given the lack of precedent, some Archibald supporters were speculating that a resolution endorsing her leadership — tabled on June 28 but scrapped after the non-confidence motion — may resurface.
Scott McLeod, chief of Nipissing First Nation in Ontario and a leading Archibald opponent, said it would be "redundant" to re-table the resolution.
"That was already addressed," he said Monday from Halifax.
"I don't know how many times we have to do this. Right now, that resolution doesn't even make sense because she is not the national chief anymore. I would suggest that that resolution is resolved."
Joe Alphonse, chief of the Tl'etinqox-t'in Government and chair of the Tŝilhqot'in National Government, seconded the June 28 resolution in support of Archibald. He said he was disgusted by the way the AFN executive handled Archibald's impeachment.
He urged her to fight on.
"Hire a legal team. Challenge them," he said. "I'll bet on RoseAnne. She's an honourable person. Pack rats like to run with pack rats."
Bernard, appointed Monday by the regional chiefs, was a vocal Archibald opponent, slamming her in the June 28 meeting as failing to live up to the high expectations women leaders had for her.
"It is crucial that the Assembly of First Nations resume its important work of advancing First Nations' priorities," Bernard said in a news release.
In February, five people were killed in separate avalanches across B.C. and Alberta. That same month, more than a dozen people were killed in California and Utah, including a particularly deadly avalanche that claimed the lives of nine. In Europe, from Andorra to Slovakia, the season has recorded 125 deaths from avalanches so far.
Getting a proper vehicle to transport people for urgent medical care is an ongoing challenge in fly-in First Nations in northwestern Ontario.
A new supergroup of musicians from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have collaborated on a Robbie Robertson-inspired song they will perform at the Junos Honouring Ceremony later this month in Hamilton.
People as young as 45 should be invited to provincial and territorial programs to screen for colorectal cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society urged on Wednesday.
The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) has opened an office and retail space in Ottawa to create a stronger presence in the capital since removing itself from the Métis National Council in 2024.
Toronto resident Winhan Wong's lung cancer journey began in 2016, with a nagging cough that just wouldn't go away.
Last month, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak pointed out on social media that history was made this year because there are a record 164 female chiefs serving across the country.
Most of humanity has a great propensity to think in the short-term, but generally, long-term considerations — air pollution, deforestation and emissions, for example — just aren't our thing.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold in early April 2020, Kolter Bouchard was just weeks into fatherhood when he noticed a lump on his neck.
Advocates and health care providers say they remain concerned about First Nations kids seeking services under Jordan's Principle even after the Canadian government’s recent promise of $1.55 billion in funding.
Contrary to science fiction, black holes are not portals to other dimensions or cosmic vacuum cleaners that swallow up everything around them.
An attempt to preserve files documenting some of the worst harms caused by Indian Residential Schools could soon head to Parliament.
A new survey suggests about three million Canadian adults are currently taking GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic or Mounjaro and that many more would like to, but cost is a barrier.