The chief of one of the largest First Nations in Canada can’t believe the Assembly of First Nations has not taken decisive action to eliminate an apparent conflict of interest involving its national chief.
Perry Bellegarde hired his long-time partner, Valerie Galley, as his senior advisor.
Six Nations Chief Ava Hill says when she learned about that back in March she wrote Bellegarde a letter expressing her concern. She says his response was inadequate.
“You read his letter and what he says in there is ‘I admit there is a conflict of interest but I have directed that she report to the CEO’,” she says. “But to me, that is not a satisfactory resolution to the issue.”
Hill says other chiefs and the executive of the AFN should not be standing idly by.
“You need to ask other chiefs, what are they going to do about it?,” she says. “You know, I’ve raised my case. I raised it in March. Nothing has happened, so I think it’s up to other people to take up the battle. I mean why isn’t the AFN executive doing anything about it? They all know about it. They all received copies of my letter.”
Hill says she is not challenging Galley’s qualifications, but the optics of the situation. She says it just plain looks bad and plays into the criticism that First Nations chiefs are not accountable and transparent.
A spokesperson for Bellegarde says the chief is travelling and will not be available for interviews today.