First Nation councillor in N.S. challenges suspension over sexual harassment

An employee of a First Nation in central Nova Scotia worried she might lose her job if she rebuffed numerous "inappropriate" messages sent to her by a male band councillor, according to a report that concluded the woman had been sexually harassed.

Details of the allegations have emerged in documents filed in a court case launched last month by Millbrook First Nation Coun. Garrett Gloade, who is challenging the decision by band council to suspend him without pay for three months earlier this year.

Gloade, a Mi'kmaw drum maker, youth mentor and former senior heritage interpreter at the Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Centre, was elected to band council in 2022.

The case is among a number in recent years where women have come forward with complaints against men in positions of power in various Indigenous organizations, part of a broader movement of speaking out against harassment.

This summer, for instance, a panel examining gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination within the Assembly of First Nations found women they interviewed reported being harassed and facing unwanted sexting and touching.

Millbrook case

An investigation of the Millbrook case earlier this year by a lawyer hired by the band council found the inappropriate comments toward the employee began around June 2022 and continued into that fall. 

They included Gloade texting the woman that she "looked good," suggesting that he come over and stay the night, and that she was lucky he hadn't tried kissing her.

The woman and Gloade had been good friends for several years, and the report found she was uncertain about how to respond.

It found the woman did not say "no" to Gloade. But it said she never reciprocated his comments, and tried to dissuade him by calling him "bro" to emphasize a sibling-like relationship, by making light of his texts and at one point suggesting she was going to see her ex-boyfriend.

In her complaint, the woman said that even though he was a friend, she worried that if she rejected Gloade outright or upset him, he might use his power as a band councillor to take away her job.

"I am very happy with my positions within the community and had a strong sense of fear that these could be taken away from me if I rejected Garrett's comments or spoke my true feelings about the situation," she wrote.

Councillor suspended

In November, she went to RCMP after Gloade's wife found some of the messages and contacted her, demanding to know what was happening. There were no charges, but the woman subsequently submitted a formal complaint to the band.

Band council voted on Feb. 28 to suspend Gloade without pay. Two councillors abstained from the vote, and the minutes of the meeting do not indicate if anyone voted against the motion.

Gloade declined an interview request from CBC. His lawyer, Brian Hebert, also declined to comment.

Through an intermediary, the woman who lodged a complaint declined to do an interview. Millbrook Chief Bob Gloade did not respond to interview requests.

In an email to the band's executive director about two weeks after the decision, Garrett Gloade said some of the councillors who took part in the vote were either in a conflict of interest or had "personal vendettas" against him.

He wrote that "other council members past and present have not received the same treatment in being suspended as I have. This is workplace discrimination and as a leader of my community is very harmful to my character and work."

In another letter, he wrote that his sister had died in the summer of 2022, and he wasn't in the "right head space and sought comfort from a close friend, where conversations grew into indirect flirting." He added that "fabricated stories" had been circulating about him sending lewd photos.

"Only thing I'm guilty of is disrespect [to] my wife and marriage, when I should have sought comfort in her," he wrote.

He said that after his wife found the messages, he changed his number, got rid of his old phone and deleted his Facebook conversation with the woman.

Grounds for judicial review

In the application for a judicial review filed last month in Federal Court, Gloade's lawyer said that Millbrook band council doesn't have the authority to suspend a fellow member.

It also said that Gloade wasn't given the report or a copy of the evidence before the vote, and he was denied an opportunity to be heard or to be represented by counsel.

Gloade is seeking to have the judge declare the decision to suspend him "unreasonable and therefore invalid" and to quash it.

No date has been set for the judicial review. The band council has not yet filed a response to the application.