Ousted national chief sues Assembly of First Nations for $5M

The former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is suing the advocacy organization for $5 million following her dramatic ouster.

RoseAnne Archibald, the first woman ever to lead the AFN, is seeking damages from her former workplace for defamation of character, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.

She names the AFN, its executive committee and all the regional chiefs who sat on that committee while she was in office as respondents.

The allegations are contained in a notice of motion filed with the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto. They have not been proven in court.

The move comes one year after Archibald was removed from the top job by AFN chiefs during a special virtual meeting in response to two outside probes that concluded she had harassed AFN staff. One of the probes was conducted while she was national chief, and the second took place when she was in her previous role as Ontario regional chief.

In her legal filing, RoseAnne Archibald names each of the Assembly of First Nations regional chiefs who sat on the organization's executive committee as respondents. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Archibald denied the findings and dismissed the accusations as the product of internal resistance to her anti-corruption campaign.

She's the first national chief ever to be ejected by the assembly.

Her legal filing is the latest development in a long battle that threw the AFN into chaos and raised questions about how well the organization represents and advocates for more than 900,000 people living in 634 First Nations across the country.

CBC News reached out to Archibald for comment through her lawyer but did not hear back. The AFN declined to comment.

Archibald claims loss of income, pain and suffering

Archibald alleges that after she was elected in July 2021, the executive committee resisted the implementation of her platform, which promised increased financial transparency and accountability.

In her court filing, Archibald said AFN executive members began a crusade to sideline and eventually eject her.

She said they took a number of illegal steps, such as denying AFN insurance coverage for civil proceedings brought against her and refusing to allow her to retain legal counsel with AFN funds to defend herself against the actions of regional chiefs.

"As a result … Archibald suffered damages, which include defamation of character, unreimbursed legal fees, loss of income and pain and suffering," her court filing says.

The AFN's executive committee initially suspended Archibald in June 2021 after harassment and bullying allegations against her as national chief first surfaced.

Chiefs reversed the suspension during an annual general meeting in Vancouver the following month and called on both sides to work together.

Archibald is looking for compensation to pay for legal fees incurred in connection with her suspension, the human resources investigation commenced against her, the campaign to oust her, and two separate legal proceedings brought against her by other chiefs for comments she made against them.

No statement of defence has been filed yet.