Former Assembly of First Nations national chief RoseAnne Archibald says her lawsuit against the national defense organization is moving forward, after settlement talks “were stalled and stymied” for 18 months.
Archibald is suing AFN for $5 million, alleging she was sidelined in a “retaliation campaign” that culminated in her removal from office in 2023. She said this week that her case is entering the discovery phase.
“Without significant progress, the matter is now moving forward in court, where the truth, evidence and accountability can finally be fully examined,” he said in a social media post on Dec. 2.
Its statement of claim dated July 12, 2024 names as defendants the AFN, its corporate arm, its executive committee and all regional heads who were in office at the time. The case was brought before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto and the allegations are unproven.
In a civil lawsuit, discovery is a pretrial process used to uncover information. A copy of a draft discovery plan, written by Archibald’s lawyer and obtained by CBC Indigenous, proposes that a trove of records related to the AFN’s recent internal turbulence be exchanged.
These would include documents and all correspondence, emails, texts and messages sent via any messaging application between Archibald, the defendants and certain AFN employees, as well as communications about Archibald between the defendants and various other individuals.
“We have asked them for a lot of documents, mainly emails between members of the executive committee, between members of the executive committee and the secretariat,” said Archibald’s lawyer, David Shiller, of Shillers LLP in Toronto.
“And we believe that very relevant and very damaging communications will be revealed in that.”
The defendants filed a notice on August 1, 2024, indicating that they intend to defend the action.
Shiller said that after that notice was filed, AFN’s attorney requested an extension to file a defense brief, which was granted. He said AFN’s lawyer then suggested they try to resolve the case.
Archibald’s side gathered the material AFN had requested, made a settlement offer and followed up, but got no response, Shiller said.
“They invited us to make an offer. We gathered the materials, sent them to their lawyers and we have not received a response,” he told CBC Indigenous.
“There were a number of follow-ups. We received no response, so RoseAnne was left with no choice but to move forward with action, which we have already done.”
Teri Liu of Dutton Brock LLP, who is listed as an attorney for the defendants, did not respond to requests for comment. An AFN spokesman declined to comment.
Undone problematic chapter
The court battle suggests that this turbulent chapter in AFN’s history is not yet over. Archibald’s post, shared more than 500 times on Facebook as of Dec. 4, coincided with Day 1 of the AFN’s December annual meeting in Ottawa.
The AFN, a federally funded advocacy body, was founded in 1968 as the National Indigenous Brotherhood and today represents more than 630 First Nations chiefs across the country, who in turn represent more than 900,000 people.
Archibald was the first woman elected as national head and the first acting national head to be officially ousted from office. His dismissal came after years of internal disputes and controversies.
Archibald’s lawsuit alleges that a campaign of retaliation against her began shortly after she became Ontario regional chief in 2018, giving her a seat on AFN’s executive committee, where she alleges she “uncovered many serious problems” with AFN’s governance.
“The AFN old guard had her against her and sought to sideline her, sought to silence her, sought ways in which her agenda could not be implemented,” Shiller said.
The problems escalated in June 2022 when four members of Archibald’s senior staff made misconduct allegations against him. The then general director of the AFN presented a fifth. Regional bosses launched an external investigation into Archibald’s conduct and suspended it.
Regional chiefs recommended his dismissal in July 2022, but Archibald won a vote of confidence that overturned his suspension. He had accused the organization of financial irregularities and claimed the investigation was a smear campaign.
The workplace investigation later found that Archibald harassed two AFN employees and, although she disputed the findings, AFN bosses voted to remove her from her position.
The former national chief alleges violations of AFN statutes, breach of contract and oppressive conduct, among other things.
She seeks damages, including compensation for legal fees she incurred in connection with her tenure, as well as compensation for lost wages, expenses and loss of reputation, according to her lawsuit.
Shiller said he hopes the AFN side will present a defense, adding, “My feeling is that ultimately there will be a resolution.”
