The Assembly of First Nations says an Ontario court has rejected National Chief RoseAnne Archibald’s bid to overturn her recent suspension. The organization issued a statement Thursday saying an Ontario Superior Court judge declined to take action on Archibald’s request for a hearing before the convention’s annual general meeting begins next week in Vancouver. Archibald argued that her suspension was illegal because the executive committee does not have the power to suspend a national leader. The convention’s executive committee argued that the potential legal action raised issues that should be addressed through an internal dispute resolution process and the upcoming meeting. “This decision … does not support allegations that our actions were illegal or outside of our jurisdiction,” District Superintendent Paul Prosper said in the statement. “We regret that the national leader chose the path of confrontation with the colonial court to resolve this.” Archibald was suspended with pay by the AFN executive committee on June 17 pending an investigation into four complaints filed against her by her staff. The day before, Archibald issued a statement claiming she was being prosecuted for trying to investigate corruption within the assembly. He also called for an independent audit of the AFN covering the past eight years. The executive committee says Archibald’s allegations violated her oath of office, the agency’s code of ethics and whistleblower policy. Archibald was also ordered not to discuss the investigation publicly Meanwhile, the committee now says Archibald will be allowed to attend the Vancouver meeting, where she will have the opportunity to speak on a resolution asking assembly leaders to ratify and continue her suspension. The committee had previously said it would ban Archibald from attending the meeting. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 1, 2022.
