Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald suspended
CBC
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) executive committee and its national board of directors have voted to suspend National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, effective immediately.
Archibald has been accused of bullying and harassment by four staff members. The claims are now the subject of an external investigation.
"The National Chief was suspended with pay pending the outcome of a current investigation into four complaints against her," the AFN said in a statement.
This is the first time a national chief has been suspended by the executive committee.
"She will be suspended until the Executive Committee reviews the investigation report and makes a final decision regarding her status," the statement said.
The AFN said it made the decision because a statement Archibald issued on Thursday — responding to CBC News's reporting about the allegations — "breached her obligations to the AFN," going against its code of conduct, whistleblower policy and her oath of office.
Archibald said in that statement the allegations were a "smear campaign." She called for a forensic audit and independent inquiry into the AFN's conduct over the past eight years.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Friday, Archibald said she won't back down.
"What is happening is wrong, but it's not about me; it's a manufactured distraction from my repeated calls to investigate the past eight years or wrongdoing within the AFN," Archibald said.
The AFN confirmed on Thursday it had received a number of complaints about Archibald last month and determined the findings supported further inquiry by an external investigator.
Regional Chief Paul Prosper, an AFN spokesperson, says the organization felt it had no choice but to suspend Archibald.
"It is regrettable that we had to take this severe action but we had no other choice," Prosper said in the organization's Friday statement.
"The National Chief has committed serious breaches of her obligations to the AFN through unfounded and unsubstantiated public attacks on the integrity of our organization and our employees that will only serve to undermine the good work we do as we continue to serve our First Nations communities."
A tiny black bear cub was rescued near Kamloops, B.C., and transported across the province to safety this week.
The RCMP's commissioner says he expresses sincere regret for an extensive spying program that targeted hundreds of Indigenous people.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas does not believe any current or former city council members are at the centre of an RCMP-led corruption investigation, although he says he did not get that information from police.
Ongoing arguments in the Supreme Court challenge to Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, have exposed a national divide over the role of courts in interpreting the notwithstanding clause.
An unexpectedly heavy snowstorm wreaked havoc on some Calgary roads Wednesday morning.
The Dominican Republic national police are investigating the death of a 19-year-old Quebecer who was shot and killed early Monday morning in the province of Puerto Plata.
Whitby’s mayor said she will examine security measures at council chambers as Durham police investigate an incident that happened after a meeting on Monday evening.
RCMP in the Northwest Territories are investigating after a woman was found dead outside a house in the southwest area of Yellowknife.
An Alberta legislature committee has reached into the auditor general's office to pick a new person to lead the watchdog agency.
A Canadian man wanted for more than a year in connection with a massive grandparent scam has been arrested in Nicaragua.
Charlottetown police have arrested a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in connection with a homicide investigation in Edmonton.
Prime Minister Mark Carney had pointed words for the head of Canada's largest airline early Wednesday, saying the Air Canada CEO's unilingual message of condolences to those affected by the recent deadly crash showed a "lack of judgment" and "a lack of compassion."
Hotels in Newfoundland and Labrador are being trained to recognize human trafficking — criminal activity that officials say despite a lack of cases, is in fact present in the province.