Four board members of the Niagara Regional Native Centre have been reinstated by an Ontario Superior Court Justice following their replacement last year.
In February 2023, Lacey Lewis, Wanda Griffin, Bobbi Jones Japp and Wendy Wilson were removed from the centre’s board following allegations by former staff they had abused their powers.
During a raucous special members meeting on Feb. 8 last year, interim head of staff Dawn Moughtin described the dynamic between the staff and directors as an “abusive relationship.”
“As soon as those doors close, they attack us. They threaten us with our jobs,” she said.
The four members were accused of name-calling and threatening behaviour.
Members were replaced by respondents Roxanne Buck, Fallon Farinacci, Audrey Clark, Elaina Jones, Brian MacAulay and Doug Paget during the meeting.
Sean Vanderklis was made director during this meeting and will remain in that position until the next meeting of the members, scheduled for December.
Vanderklis could not be reached for comment by deadline.
In a written statement, Justice Leanne Standryk, from the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, said the removal and replacement on Feb. 8, 2023 was invalid due to several “governance irregularities.”
“The cumulative impact of the irregularities is of such a magnitude to strike at the electoral process of the (Native Centre) and dampen fundamental elements of good governance,” Standryk said.
Memberships were reinstated with immediate effect and the four individuals are to be reinstalled to their board positions in a meeting of the members, to be held no later than Dec. 19.
Until then, the current board — elected at an annual general meeting on Oct. 12 last year — will remain in place.
Lewis, one of the reinstated members, said she is pleased with the outcome.
“The time that it took for the court process to happen is reflected within the ruling. It’s done very diligently and I’m happy with how it is written and how it is explained,” she told The Lake Report.
Part of good governance and fair process is being transparent and open, so the four members are happy with the outcome and how thoughtful Standryk was in her decision-making, Lewis said.
Their official reinstatement was liberating, Jones Japp said.
“Now that it’s finalized and now that there is a ruling, I think it’s a lot easier to have process, to understand,” she said.
With heightened emotions in the community, it’s hard to balance personal life and commitments with a legal battle, Jones Japp said.
“As Indigenous people, we have to learn within ourselves how to react and how not to react,” she said. “Those are all things that we have to learn how to do, based on intergenerational trauma.”
Having process and policy to back her story was “validating and vindicating,” she said.
Despite the positive feelings, Lewis added that the outcome of the situation is that nobody comes out as a “winner.”
“It didn’t give us any pleasure to do this, but we didn’t want to have a rogue-style governance,” she said.
Other orders issued with the cases’ conclusion include having the centre use independent third parties to conduct a bylaw review and governance training for the board and create an onboarding orientation package for new directors, no later than June 30 next year.
