Global Courant 2023-05-31 05:05:19
The national head of the Assembly of First Nations says an investigation that said she was the source of retaliation and intimidation against workers reached the wrong conclusion.
The office of National Chief RoseAnne Archibald released a statement on Monday refuting the conclusions of the summary report of the external workplace investigation, claiming that the results effectively exonerated her.
The investigation, conducted by an Ottawa-based company, found that two Assembly of First Nations (AFN) employees were harassed and five employees suffered retaliation and had their confidentiality breached by the national chief, according to the report obtained by CBC News .
Archibald’s office released a 19-page counter-report, also obtained by CBC News, alleging that the investigation had been used as a “tool” to distract chiefs from her work to clean up the AFN.
“At a minimum, we need a forensic audit of contracts and employee payouts,” Archibald’s office wrote.
Archibald’s counter-report also claimed she was cleared by the inquiry because it concluded that 93 percent of the allegations against her were “baseless”.
They included allegations that she forced staff to share personal traumas, subjected them to negative comments and profanity, and planned to dismantle the AFN’s administrative arm known as the Secretariat.
National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations RoseAnne Archibald speaks at the AFN’s final annual general meeting in Vancouver on July 5, 2022. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
The AFN director, which is composed of regional chiefs, hired the Ottawa law firm Emond Harnden to investigate allegations of bullying and harassment against Archibald by four senior staffers in the national chief’s office.
It also investigated a fifth complaint from Janice Ciavaglia, who was the CEO of the AFN at the time. Ciavaglia left the organization last January.
The probe produced five reports – one for each complainant.
Copies of the reports were shared last April with members of the AFN’s executive committee, including Archibald and regional chiefs, but not the chiefs-in-assembly.
Archibald said she wants to see that changed.
“Once the full HR reports are duly shared with the First Nations-in-Assembly, everyone will agree that the national chief has been substantively exonerated,” her office wrote.
The Canada Labor Code and the AFN’s Policy on Harassment, Violence Prevention and Workplace Harassment prevent the executive committee from making the five reports public in their entirety, the AFN said.
The AFN executive did not respond to CBC’s request for comment.
Labor lawyer Raquel Chisholm, who oversaw the investigation, also declined to comment on the national chief’s rebuttal.
Chisholm released a summary report to leaders earlier this month.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald is calling for an interim administration to replace the national and regional heads of the AFN’s administrative arm known as the Secretariat. (Spencer Colby/Canadian Press)
Archibald’s office claimed that the summary report is biased and does not reflect the report’s true findings.
“Chiefs/Leadership should carefully consider whether Ms. Chisholm represents the interests of the Regional Chiefs who sit on the Executive Committee, rather than the interests she is supposed to represent: those of the First Nations-in-Assembly,” the office wrote. Archibald.
Chisholm’s summary described the AFN’s working environment as “highly politicized, divided and even fractured”.
Archibald’s legal counsel alleges that investigators wrongly determined that Archibald breached confidentiality. They say they will provide a legal analysis to the heads of the assembly ahead of a special virtual meeting on June 28.
The AFN convenes the meeting to discuss with chiefs and proxies the findings of the workplace investigation and an executive committee recommendation to remove Archibald as national chief.
The meeting is closed to the media, according to the AFN.
According to a memo sent Monday with her counter-overview, Archibald advised leaders to separate the AFN’s politics from its business,
Regional chiefs, who form the AFN manager, are recommending that the chiefs-in-assembly remove RoseAnne Archibald from her position as national chief. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
She argues for a separate board for the secretariat.
“Remove the National Chief and Regional Chiefs from the AFN Secretariat Council and replace them with an interim council,” her office wrote.
“This ensures a strong and healthy AFN that operates under healthy boundaries and clear lines of authority, based on clear roles and responsibilities.”
Archibald separated the political from the governing bodies as she served as Ontario regional chief before being elected national head in July 2021.
Archibald’s office said six staff members from her office have filed additional complaints with the AFN that have yet to be addressed.
Archibald’s office said she wants to “repair relationships” and “handle staff complaints in good faith.”
When reached by CBC News, Archibald’s office released a statement expressing concern about ongoing media leaks, but said it will continue to speak with the heads of the assembly through and during the June 28 meeting.
