Accusations fly at QIA

Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Jun 18/01) - Questions over how Baffin's birthright corporation is being run have degenerated into name-calling and insults.

The controversy came to a head last week with the former executive director of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association calling for president Meeka Kilabuk to resign.

QIA facts Nunavut Tunngavik provides the bulk of QIA's annual operating budget for fiscal 2001-2002, NTI gave QIA approximately $3.5 million Kakivak Association and the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation are the business and economic development arms of QIA There are approximately 11,795 registered beneficiaries in the Baffin region The board of directors can remove the president from office or 40 per cent of the voters (1,887 beneficiaries) can petition QIA to have the president removed

"I think it would be good for the organization. She has proven to be more of a liability," John Amagoalik said at a June 13 press conference.

Kilabuk responded two days later at her own press conference, saying the association fired Amagoalik for breaching its code of conduct and called him "desperate."

Amagoalik was hired at the beginning of March, suspended in May and then fired. He said he was wrongly suspended and wrongly dismissed and is considering pursuing legal action.

Kilabuk said QIA policy dictated they did not need to inform Amagoalik of his impending termination. Responding to his call for her resignation, Kilabuk said he was entitled to his opinion.

She also blamed the media for generating the controversy and said they had a "sourpuss" approach. She added that "white people and some Inuit people never want to see Inuit get ahead."

Flurry of letters

Amagoalik said he was told in a letter the first week of May that he was suspended, with pay, because of a $530 cheque he issued himself for travel expenses.

Amagoalik said it was Kilabuk who assigned the trip and added that because there was no staff in the finance department, he had to write the cheque himself. He said Kilabuk told him he violated policy and that the decision to suspend him came from QIA's executive council.

He said a second letter offered him a contract position to replace the executive directorship two weeks later. A third letter arrived one week after that, informing Amagoalik he'd been dismissed and a fourth letter confirmed his dismissal.

Organization in disarray

Amagoalik said the QIA is in disarray, and accused Kilabuk of interfering with staff work. "I viewed this as intimidation and abuse of power," he said.

Since Kilabuk's election last December, there have been several resignations from the organization, all reportedly caused by her demeanour. Amagoalik said he tried to discuss the issues with Kilabuk, but his attempts were rebuffed.

When asked if she could confirm reports of recent resignations at QIA, Kilabuk said "No, I don't know that ... last few days we have been very busy with addressing the media attention."

Kilabuk said change in management often brought staff changes and it was OK that people may have resigned because of her.

"A few individuals were going to resign if I got elected. I don't take that personally. If that is what they want to do, that's their choice, not mine."

Kilabuk replaced Pauloosie Keyootak last December after the board dismissed him for breaching the organization's code of conduct.