Gwich'in councils in Inuvik and Aklavik take grand chief to court

The Nihtat Gwich'in Council in Inuvik and the Ehdiitat Gwich'in Council in Aklavik are taking Gwich'in Grand Chief Frederick Blake Jr. and other Gwich'in Tribal Council board members to court over a controversial board meeting earlier this month.

At that Feb. 3 meeting, Gwich'in Tribal Council (GTC) board members voted to empower Blake to act as grand chief. They also passed motions making several other major staffing and governance changes at the GTC, including firing the CEO. No board members from Inuvik or Aklavik were present at the meeting.

The Gwich'in Tribal Council has been mired in a legal back-and-forth over the legitimacy of Blake's election since the election took place last August. It postponed its decision to call a new election over broken campaign rules, after Blake asked the N.W.T. Supreme Court to intervene. The court ruled in January that he had been duly elected and a new election shouldn't happen. As recent as Jan. 31, the tribal council had said it was planning to appeal.

The latest action against Blake was filed with the Northwest Territories Supreme Court on Feb. 14. None of the allegations have been tested yet in court.

Both Inuvik and Aklavik councils are named as plaintiffs, as well as their respective presidents, Kelly McLeod and Michael Greenland.

In court documents obtained by CBC, the plaintiffs call the Feb 3. meeting a "hostile takeover" of the GTC, arguing it was illegal because it broke the GTC's own bylaws in several ways.

Concerns about procedure at meeting

The plaintiffs say that the emergency Feb. 3 board meeting called by Blake was not an official board meeting of the GTC — because Blake had not yet been formally sworn in as grand chief when he gave notice of the meeting on Jan. 22. 

McLeod and Greenland also argue that they were not given proper notice that the meeting would be happening, because they didn't receive any follow-up information on whether the meeting was happening after voicing these and other concerns to Blake and GTC administrators.

They also argue that the meeting never achieved the quorum of five GTC directors required to pass motions.

According to meeting minutes from Feb. 3, posted to social media, Tsiigehtchic resident Cindy McDonald voted on behalf of board member John Firth, who was experiencing health issues.

But the plaintiffs argue in their submission that the GTC's bylaws don't allow voting on behalf of board members — so all motions passed at the meeting were illegal and should be voided.

'Illegal' motions passed

They also say several motions passed at the meeting were against GTC bylaws.

They took issue with the fact that board members from the Gwichya Gwich'in Council and the Tetł'it Gwich'in Council voted on motions to restore funding to their communities, saying that this constituted a conflict of interest.

They also took issue with board members voting to give Blake back-pay dating back to the day of the election in August — months before he began acting as grand chief.

"It purports to pay him a salary for doing nothing, diverting the GTC's already limited resources to improperly and illegally compensate Frederick Blake Jr.," they wrote.

They also say it was illegal for Blake and the board members who were present to dismiss the board of the Gwich'in Development Corporation and appoint themselves as the new board members.

The action was first filed on Feb. 14. At that time, the plaintiffs asked the court to ban Blake from acting as grand chief until he was confirmed and to direct the GTC not to act on any motions passed at the Feb. 3 meeting.

CBC was not present at that appearance, but the record of proceedings shows that the judge denied the request.

Blake has until Feb. 28 to submit his response in court. The case will be back before the N.W.T. Supreme Court on March 7.