Dispute at Native Council of P.E.I. settled by police
Native Council of P.E.I. members clash over leadership of organization
Charlottetown police were able to calm down a confrontation between dozens of rival members of the Native Council of P.E.I. at the council’s offices Thursday night.
Police told CBC News both sides in the dispute left the native council building around 12:30 a.m. after officers negotiated a settlement. Both sides to agree to allow a private security firm to keep watch over the office building. A security officer will be on site 24 hours a day.
The dispute centres around leadership of the organization, which represent Mi’kmaq living off-reserve on P.E.I. Last week the council’s board of directors announced Jamie Thomas is no longer chief and president of the council, and named Lisa Cooper as interim chief and president.
Supporters of Thomas turned up at the council offices Thursday night for a meeting in a basement room. The council led by Cooper was meeting upstairs and the two groups were separated by a locked door.
But the door became unlocked. As Thomas’s supporters rushed upstairs, Cooper and her new executive locked themselves into an upstairs office.
Police were called and were able to broker an agreement for everyone to leave the building.
Both sides say they'll get lawyers and meet again to talk about their differences.