At a special general assembly held in Winnipeg on Friday, dozens of Manitoba chiefs held a no-confidence vote to formally remove Dumas from his position after allegations he sexually harassed and assaulted an employee. Interim Grand Chief Cornell McLean told CBC News that 30 voted to remove the Grand Chief immediately and 13 voted against in the closed-door meeting. “On behalf of the assembly we must [apologize]because we have to protect them from things like that,” McLean said. Dumas was suspended in March pending an investigation into allegations that he engaged in workplace sexual harassment and sexually assaulted an employee, who was unnamed at the time. The employee filed a police report, but no charges have been filed. McLean apologized to Shauna Fontaine, who appeared in public in June as the employee who filed the complaint, and expressed her frustration with AMC and the police response to her report. He also apologized to Bethany Maytwayashing, who accused Dumas of sending her inappropriate text messages in 2019. “When you’re a leader in your community, you can’t abuse your power or trust in any way,” McLean said. In a written statement provided to CBC News, Fontaine expressed some relief at Dumas’ immediate removal, but says she is “mostly saddened and traumatized by the whole experience.” The statement renews its call for more transparent trauma-informed investigation and resolution processes within the AMC, which represents 62 First Nations in the province. In response to Fontaine’s allegations, the assembly ordered a third-party investigation, which found that Dumas had engaged in sexual harassment in the workplace. Fontaine first expressed concern over AMC’s handling of her allegations in June in an open letter signed by 200 supporters. The letter called for an independent investigation into the case. “It is time for change, and with this result, I can only hope that change prevails,” Fontaine’s statement read. Earlier this week, Dumas announced he would seek trauma-based therapy to “begin to heal not only from the events of the past five months but a lifetime of trauma,” he said in a news release. He did not appear on Friday at the special general meeting, despite AMC asking his lawyers to attend virtually. He had previously denied the charges. Dumas was first elected as AMC’s big boss in 2017 and was re-elected last summer. In an emailed press release after the vote, the assembly said a runoff election would be held on Oct. 19 to elect a replacement. Until then, McLean will continue as acting captain.
“Message of Hope”
Manitoba gender-based violence expert and advocate Hilda Anderson-Pyrz says the vote to oust Dumas sends “a message of hope” that the winds are changing when it comes to how complaints are handled in political systems. “There is a bit of a shift,” he said, adding that Friday’s decision was long overdue. Anderson-Pyrz says she looks back on when the Maytwayashing allegations first surfaced and believes AMC should have immediately requested an independent third-party investigation instead of handling the matter internally. “In my opinion, the victim was rekindled by the way the whole process was handled,” he said. “Once the investigation is complete, there needs to be processes in place to, you know, hold the person who violated those policies and procedures accountable. And there needs to be immediate action as well.” If Dumas stayed, it would send “a heartbreaking message to Indigenous women across the country,” Anderson-Pearts said. “It would, you know, diminish any hope … especially for those victims of gender-based violence who are suffering right now and have found their voice and reached out for help.” Anderson-Pyrz says more Indigenous women need to be given opportunities to take on political roles, including by offering training and other support resources. Patriarchy and misogyny remain “very thick” today within political structures, she said: “We’re still trying to break those glass ceilings.”
