Beleaguered Manitoba Inuit Association loses second board member
CBC
A second board member with the Manitoba Inuit Association (MIA) has resigned. The resignations follow a growing #InuitMeToo movement that saw the termination of the organization's former CEO after allegations of sexual assault.
In a message to CBC News Friday, Trevor Wright wrote that "effective today" he was no longer affiliated with MIA.
"I have stepped down from my role as a youth board representative and have not and will not accept the role of CEO,” he wrote.
Wright said he was thankful for the opportunity to sit on the board, but did not respond to further questions.
No one from MIA returned requests for comment and none of the remaining three board members could be reached.
CBC News has not been able to confirm who has been appointed as the interim CEO or who is leading the Winnipeg-based non-profit association that provides culturally appropriate services for Inuit living in Manitoba, and those coming to the province for medical care.
Wright is the second member of the MIA board of directors to resign in the last two months.
The first, in October, came during a growing grassroots #InuitMeToo movement, including a petition with more than 1,400 signatures, which called on the MIA to look into allegations of sexual and physical abuse against its then-CEO, Nastania Mullin.
In a special board meeting on Oct. 18, Joanie French, then MIA’s secretary-treasurer, gave her resignation.
In a statement, French wrote she had encouraged the board to seek external legal counsel, initiate a third-party investigation and ensure staff could speak without retaliation. However, she said, those efforts “were not supported.”
“I no longer believed I could fulfill my duties responsibly within those constraints, nor continue to serve in a structure that was failing to protect Inuit women, staff, and community members,” she wrote, adding that she was leaving under “considerable pressure and duress.”
Within days, Ruth Gustaw, 36, told CBC News that Mullin allegedly sexually assaulted her in his mother’s Iqaluit home more than 20 years ago.
Gustaw, who now lives in Ottawa, and one other woman have made formal complaints against Mullin with the RCMP and Ottawa Police Service, respectively. CBC News is not revealing her name because she fears repercussions for coming forward.
None of the allegations have been proven in court, and Mullin has not been charged.
Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after an officer involved shooting at Danforth Go station early Saturday morning, said Toronto police.
Montreal officials will hold a ceremony to mark the 36th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre today.
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.