There was an awful lot of mud hurled at Chief Calvin Craigan by dissident Sechelt Indian Band members who tried to oust him last spring. As we learned this week, an independent probe has found the majority of those allegations to be “without merit.” In other words, they were false.
In his investigation, North Vancouver lawyer John R. Rich scrutinized the chief’s business trips, gas purchases, an Easter breakfast with his children, clothing purchases for his niece, an alleged Mother’s Day sea plane tour with “six non-native women” – to find, in all cases, that there had been no improper use of band funds. Nothing, however, seemed to be off limits to Craigan’s enemies, the bulk of whose suspicions turned out to be not only wrong but shamefully petty. In Rich’s words, the complainants “made numerous serious allegations which appear to have no basis beyond rumour and politically-motivated speculation.”
What the investigation did find was that the chief had been careless with a band credit card on a few specific occasions involving relatively small amounts of money and, when those lapses were brought to his attention by staff, he had repaid the money owed. The probe also found that council had failed to meet constitutional deadlines for holding general band meetings and completing budgets and audits.
Rich’s report does not downplay or gloss over those failings. He calls them “serious matters” and provides 18 recommendations to guide the conduct of band business going forward. Craigan has pledged to see that those recommendations are implemented during the final months of his term in office, while he remains the elected chief of the shíshálh Nation.
This Saturday, band members will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of their historic self-government agreement. Sechelt has been an undisputed leader among First Nations in B.C. and Canada, and Chief Craigan has made large contributions to that effort. In his current term, he has raised the band’s national profile, helped develop important business partnerships for the betterment of band members and has skillfully articulated the Nation’s aspirations to the broader Sunshine Coast community. He has done this despite a huge personal loss he suffered early in his term.
With five months to go before the next election, we urge band members to put aside their differences, stand behind their elected leaders and move forward in strength and unity.
