AFN suspends national chief over public statement; investigation into complaints underway
The Assembly of First Nations has suspended National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, a day after she issued a public statement criticizing the organization and just as she becomes the subject of an investigation involving multiple complaints against her.
A statement released by the AFN on Friday evening said the executive committee and national board of directors voted to suspend Archibald effective immediately.
The AFN points specifically to a public statement the national chief made on Thursday as the reason for its decision.
That day, saying despite campaigning to bring "truth, transparency, and accountability" to the AFN, there has been "extreme resistance to this positive change" for nearly a year.
Her statement included a number of other accusations against the organization, as well as calls for a forensic audit and independent inquiry into the conduct of the AFN over the past eight years. Archibald against the AFN on Friday.
The AFN says Archibald's comments, "breached her obligations," including the oath of office, code of conduct and whistleblower policy.
"It is regrettable that we had to take this severe action but we had no other choice," Regional Chief and AFN spokesperson Paul Prosper said in the statement from the AFN.
"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."
Earlier Friday, the AFN announced that an outside investigator would review a series of complaints made against Archibald last month.
The AFN said it looked into the matter, in accordance with its internal human resources policy, "and determined that the findings support the pursuit of further investigation."
The organization now says it suspended Archibald with pay pending the outcome of that investigation, which involves four complaints.
She also cannot discuss the ongoing investigation publicly or attend the AFN's annual general assembly and chief's assembly meeting in early July, the organization says.
The AFN has not disclosed the exact nature of the complaints.
, Archibald said she was locked out of her email without prior notice, calling it a signal of "the beginning of a seemingly staged coup by Regional Chiefs."
"While the Regional Chiefs have the authority to suspend me from the Board and as a Board Chair, they do not have the authority to remove me as the AFN National Chief, nor can they determine whether I can or cannot attend next month's AFN Annual General Assembly in Vancouver," she wrote.
"As National Chief, I'll continue to press for a forensic audit and full impartial investigation into the AFN and I'll continue to release truthful information in the coming days. I remain undeterred in my conviction that the AFN is sorely in need of a forensic audit and independent investigation. Sunlight is the best disinfectant."
Archibald has criticized the AFN in the past, having pledged to make the organization more inclusive and transparent.
"I have the ability to create space that is respectful and kind to other leaders and at the same time, hold them to account. I'm holding two spaces within me," she said at a news conference in July 2021.
"I know that with that heart-centred approach, together with any government we can move the yardstick, we can create quantum leaps of change and that's my plan."
At the time, Archibald also addressed some aspects of an internal investigation the AFN launched against her over alleged harassment.
She said she was never interviewed for that investigation, but believes it involved her raising concerns about alleged harassment and bullying of women, LGBTQ2S+ people at the organization.
Archibald became the first woman to lead the AFN in July 2021 after previously serving as regional chief for Ontario, the first woman elected to that role.
In 1990 at 23, she was the first woman and youngest chief elected in her , located in northeastern Ontario. Archibald also went to become the first woman and youngest deputy Grand Chief for Nishnawbe Aski Nation in Ontario.
With files from The Canadian Press
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Israel intensifies bombardment of Gaza and southern Lebanon on the eve of Oct. 7 anniversary
A new round of airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs late Sunday as Israel intensified its bombardment of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon in a widening war with Iran-allied militant groups across the region. Palestinian officials said a strike on a mosque in Gaza killed at least 19 people.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
The cooking method you need to learn to get excited about vegetables this fall, expert says
'Eat more vegetables,' doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it鈥檚 hard to do, because they aren鈥檛 excited about veggies or just don鈥檛 like them.
Hurricane Milton is growing stronger as it blows toward Florida's Tampa Bay region
People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Hurricane Milton is intensifying rapidly and will likely be a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
A 54-year-old inmate at the Toronto South Detention Centre has been charged in connection with a deadly jail beating late last week that claimed the life of a 69-year-old prisoner.
Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone, dead at 63
Christopher Ciccone, a multihyphenate artist, dancer, designer and younger brother of Madonna, has died. He was 63.
'Environmental racism': First Nations leaders claim cancer-causing contamination was covered up
The people of Fort Chipewyan believe the federal government knew its water was contaminated and hid the issue for years. Now the chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is leading the call for immediate action.
Frequent drinking of fizzy beverages and fruit juice linked to an increased risk of stroke: research
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton鈥檚 McMaster University.
Local Spotlight
Bernie Hicks, known as the 鈥楤atman of Amherst,鈥 always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi鈥檚 Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Some Manitobans are cleaning up Sunday morning, after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province Saturday.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
A gargantuan gourd 鈥 affectionately named 鈥極rangina鈥 by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home 鈥 earned the massive honour of being named B.C.鈥檚 heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.