Suspended grand chief faces Aug. 5 non-confidence vote

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This article was published 19/07/2022 (890 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Members of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs will decide next month if embattled Grand Chief Arlen Dumas should be removed from office, after a workplace investigation found he sexually harassed a senior staff member.

On Wednesday, the AMC said it will hold a special general assembly and a non-confidence vote on Aug. 5. The political advocacy organization represents 62 First Nations in Manitoba.

Chiefs suspended Dumas, Manitoba’s most powerful First Nations leader, without pay in March, after a series of allegations of harassment escalated to a police investigation into alleged sexual assault.

In mid-March, Shauna Fontaine, who was placed on leave as acting executive director for AMC, accused Dumas of sexual assault and harassment.

The assembly hired a third-party legal firm to conduct a workplace investigation in the wake of allegations of gender-based violence, harassment and sexual misconduct.

On June 30, the results of the investigation were released by the organization, which said investigators determined Dumas’ behaviour amounted to workplace sexual harassment.

The report was reviewed by the assembly’s executive council of chiefs, which passed a resolution accepting the confidential report.

The non-confidence vote will be held according to the AMC constitution, the group said. The assembly did not specify whether the meeting would be held in-person or virtually.

Should the non-confidence vote pass, a byelection for the grand chief will be conducted at a later date. According to the constitution, a grand chief may only be removed by a majority vote of registered chiefs or delegates at a special assembly.

Prior to a vote, the grand chief will be allowed to address the assembly on the matter. Dumas was elected to a three-year term in July 2021.

On Wednesday, Winnipeg police said it had no updates with respect to Fontaine’s criminal complaint. No charges have been laid and the allegations have not been tested in court.

Dumas had taken a leave in 2019, after young women alleged he had sent them inappropriate Facebook and text messages.

— Staff