With immediate effect, the Executive Committee of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and its national board of directors have voted to suspend national leader RoseAnne Archibald.
The decision comes after four complaints were filed against her so that she could be investigated, AFN said in a statement on June 17.
Read more: AFN national chief calls for external investigation into years of alleged corruption
The national head will be suspended from pay until the Executive Committee reviews the investigation report and makes a final decision.
Archibald blocked his emails Friday at 7:30 p.m., according to a statement he made.
“While the regional leaders have the authority to suspend me from the Board and as chairman of the Board, they do not have the authority to remove me as the national head of the AFN,” he said.
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Archibald will also not be able to attend the annual General Assembly and General Assembly meeting in early July, according to the AFN.
“It is unfortunate that we had to take this severe action, but we had no choice. The National Chief has committed serious breaches of his obligations to the AFN through unfounded and unfounded public attacks on the integrity of our organization and of our employees who will only serve to undermine the good work we do as we continue to serve our First Nations communities. ” said AFN regional chief Paul Prosper.
On June 16, Archibald issued a public statement calling for a forensic audit and an independent investigation into the alleged corruption and “toxicity” of the assembly.
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He said she had been “undermined, discredited and attacked” in her efforts to clean up the organization, which she accused of conducting “smear campaigns” to silence it.
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– RoseAnne Archibald (@ChiefRoseAnne) June 16, 2022
The statement prompted the assembly to suspend it as it breached its obligations to the AFN, its statement said.
On June 17, Archibald made another public statement saying that “he will not back down in his attempt to shed light on what he believes is corruption and collusion within the AFN.”
“I am of the opinion that there is a pattern in the AFN of launching false investigations and leaking confidential information, especially among senior staff,” it said in the statement.
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“What is happening is wrong, but it is not about me; it is a distraction made from my repeated calls to investigate the last eight years of illicit acts in the AFN. “
He also publicly attached the aforementioned complainant’s complaint about the senior officials of the AFN Secretariat.
The complaint details three staff members who allegedly plan to take a break from work after an Archibald speech in May, although the rest of the staff is “optimistic” after listening. The three staff members also tried to persuade other staff members to join them and had previously written a free time request.
2 / Complainant Complaint pic.twitter.com/7OehXrpaHM
– RoseAnne Archibald (@ChiefRoseAnne) June 18, 2022
“I am writing to inform you that I need some free time. I am in coercion and my mental health is suffering because of the information that was shared on Friday, about the possible disorder of the office and I am very worried about this situation. “I need this week off to take some time for my mental health,” says the previously written email, detailed in Archibald’s public statement.
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Archibald also says the nature between the three staff members and the AFN CEO is “very suspicious” and “worth investigating”.
Archibald was elected the first woman national head of the assembly in July last year.
At the time of his election, he was facing an investigation into allegations of bullying and school harassment since his time as Ontario’s regional head. He then said the investigation, which has since been resolved, was due to his vocal allegations that LGBTQ2 women and members of the organization were facing harassment and bullying.
– with Sean Boynton files
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