The suspended Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Derek Fox, puts his headdress on before entering an emergency chiefs meeting in Toronto on March 9, 2023.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail
The Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Northern Ontario’s largest Indigenous political organization, has been suspended after an internal investigation, according to a statement issued Monday.
Grand Chief Derek Fox is now the subject of a code-of-conduct inquiry and has been suspended with pay until its conclusion, says the statement by Deputy Grand Chiefs Anna Betty Achneepineskum and Victor Linklater. The pair, along with Mr. Fox and one other deputy grand chief, make up the NAN’s executive council.
The statement said senior management will handle the Grand Chief’s business matters and that “this important work will continue.”
NAN represents 49 communities and about 45,000 people in Treaty 9 and 5 territories, covering two-thirds of the province. It advocates for them and administers programs focused on protecting their rights.
The organization is involved in regional and national files such as the administration of the multimillion-dollar youth suicide-prevention program, Choose Life, as well as agreements with the federal government on an ambitious health transformation project for the entire territory. It also advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Mr. Fox was elected in 2021 and served as deputy grand chief before that.
It’s not clear what alleged misconduct is being investigated.
Court documents show Mr. Fox recently filed a defamation and loss of reputation suit against a chief outside of NAN. On Jan. 12, Mr. Fox’s lawyer filed a statement of claim for $200,000 against Chief Jeffrey Copenace, from Onigaming First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, for damages to his reputation. The lawsuit references a statement made by Mr. Copenace last December at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa.
The statement of claim, which has not been tested in court, says Mr. Copenace’s comments effectively called Mr. Fox a “woman abuser” during an open-microphone floor session.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Copenace opened his remarks by referring to “some of the men abusers that I’ve seen walking around these very hallways.”
Mr. Fox’s lawsuit goes on to quote Mr. Copenace’s accusations at length. Mr. Copenance concludes his remarks by saying, “Our chiefs need to be held accountable.”
The statement of claim says “the allegation was made in front of more than 1,000 delegates, including chiefs from across Canada, government officials and media” and that it was broadcast live by national media outlets.
“The statements in their natural and ordinary meaning were understood to mean that Grand Chief Fox is a woman abuser,” the court document states.
Mr. Fox categorically denies the allegations in his statement of claim, filed by Thunder Bay lawyer Jordan Lester from Cheadles law firm, and says the allegations falsely and maliciously slander him.
“As a result of Chief Copenace’s baseless allegations of corruption, Grand Chief Fox has suffered and will continue to suffer damage to his reputation,” the statement of claim said.
Mr. Copenace said in an interview he is not aware of any lawsuit.
Mr. Fox’s lawyer did not respond to an e-mail request for comment.