The national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples believes she has the support of the board and grassroots members, even though a Saskatchewan delegate wants her gone.
Kim Beaudin tried to make that happen last week at a board meeting, but he was ruled out of order. A vote on the leadership of Betty Ann Lavallee will likely take place next fall.
She believes she is doing a good job. It is not easy being the head of a national Aboriginal organization, but Lavallee takes it all in stride.
“They haven’t shot me, they haven’t cut me off. I think we have accomplished quite a bit,” she says.
Everything from eliminating debt to helping push the Daniels case on Metis rights to the Supreme Court of Canada are among her accomplishments. She also knows she has detractors, the most notable is Beaudin.
Beaudin is the president of the Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan, a CAP affiliate. He says he and others have lost faith in Lavallee’s leadership and they are calling for her resignation.
Lavallee is not worried. She says everyone has a right to their opinion in a democracy. She calls that healthy.
“It is not the first time that it has happened. It is the same individual, and I think it is healthy that any organization is constantly forced to examine its direction and leadership,” she says.
Lavallee was first elected CAP’s national chief in 2009. She was re-elected in 2012.