The email in question was sent to all AFN employees by Vice President of Operations and Administration Jonathan Thompson on Monday.
He announces that Ms. Ciavaglia has resigned and her position will be vacant as of March 10.
The AFN executive committee, composed of regional chiefs and the national chief, will discuss the process of hiring a new CEO as well as the interim CEO, the email also said.
The email does not specify the exact time Ms. Ciavaglia submitted her resignation. However, his business email address is already out of service.
We have no comment, AFN communications manager Kelly Reid said when asked by CBC News about the resignation of the organization’s CEO, which represents 634 First Nations.
At least a tense climate
As CEO, Ciavaglia oversaw the non-political arm of APN known as the Secretariat, which has more than 170 employees.
She was appointed to the post as head of the organization in 2020 during Perry Belgrade’s last tenure. As a trained teacher, she initially held the position of Director of Education.
During her tenure, she notably helped the organization manage the COVID-19 pandemic as well as implement the new federal law on Indigenous children and family services.
However, his mandate was also interrupted by the filing of a misconduct complaint against National Chief RoseAnne Archibald. Ms. Ciavaglia’s complaint, along with that of four other executives, is currently the subject of an external investigation.
RoseAnne Archibald has been AFN boss since July 8, 2021.
Photo: The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
For her part, Chief RoseAnne Archibald called these complaints – all of which denounce her paranoia towards Janice Ciavaglia – a smear campaign aimed at undermining her leadership.
In response, Ms. Archibald’s chief of staff, Joyce Hunter, herself filed a complaint against Ms. Ciavaglia, as well as the four other executives who complained of wrongdoing, and members of the company’s board of directors.
Janice Ciavaglia’s departure comes as the AFN seeks to fill several positions within its secretariat, including those of Director of Economic Development, Director of Communications and Director of Human Resources.
Furthermore, this departure also comes at a time when Murray Sinclair, who had been hired as an arbitrator to assist in conflict resolution, is having to leave his post. Indeed, the former president of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has been forced to step down due to ill health, CBC News has learned.