'I have been wrongfully and possibly defamed by statements that are untrue,' says Fox. Photo: NAN
The executive council of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in northern Ontario, announced Thursday it had voted to remove Derek Fox as grand chief.
“After review of the Investigation Report, and hearing from Derek Fox, NAN Chiefs-in-Assembly accepted the Report and directed that Derek Fox is to be removed from the position of Grand Chief,” NAN said in a statement.
“The position of Grand Chief has been declared vacant and a by-election will be called within 30 days, in accordance with NAN by-laws.”
Fox was suspended by the council on Feb. 26 for alleged code of conduct violations.
The alleged violations have not been made public.
On March 2, Fox posted a message on his Facebook page about the February suspension.
“I have been wrongfully and possibly defamed by statements that are untrue,” he wrote.
“I’ve asked the NAN Chiefs to call for an election of the entire executive so that a trusted leadership group that can work together is put in place for the benefit of the people we serve.”
Fox is from Bearskin Lake First Nation in Treaty 9, situated about 600 km north of Thunder Bay.
APTN News reached out to Fox but didn’t hear back before deadline.
Editor’s Note: The original story said that Fox was one of three grand chiefs in NAN. Fox was the grand chief and there are three deputy grand chiefs in the organization. We apologize for the error.
