BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO - Tlicho Grand Chief Joe Rabesca asked for three months off from his elected position after he walked out of a government assembly meeting in Behchoko last week.

Tlicho Grand Chief Joe Rabesca asked for three months off from his elected position after he walked out of a government assembly meeting in Behchoko last week. - NNSL file photo

After leaving the Oct. 14 meeting, at which other Tlicho chiefs had announced a decision needed to be made on the Grand Chief's future, Rabesca told News/North he needed a break.

The four Tlicho community chiefs and executive council haven't yet decided whether they will grant his request or whether they will fire him and appoint a replacement. The chiefs were expected to return to their communities Oct. 15, consult with their constituents, and make a decision the week of Oct. 18.

Rabesca's abrupt exit during the seventh session of the second assembly on Oct. 13 forced the council to make a decision since the Tlicho constitution states the assembly can't proceed without the grand chief. Rabesca had previously missed an assembly session in Whati that was re-scheduled to run all last week in Behchoko.

Rabesca said he was frustrated by the lack of support he perceived from the majority of community chiefs and some executive council members. His frustration built up to the point he didn't want to attend any more assembly meetings because he felt he was being forced out. He said he needed to work with people he could trust.

"The support is there, but they're giving it to the wrong people. What I don't like is, there are decisions (already) made when I walk in there. I go in there and they say, 'this is what we've decided.' So that's something else I don't like. I told them, if you want me to remain here, we've got to change all the staff around. They told me 'you can't fire people.' I wasn't talking about firing people. I said we just need to replace them. If there's a contract with somebody, well, pay them and get them out of there. I only want to have my own crew - that's what I'm talking about. But that's not the case."

Whati Chief Alphonz Nitsiza previously told CBC News Rabesca's actions were likely the result of problems with alcohol - a statement Rabesca dismissed, saying he had completed a treatment program and had been sober for more than eight months before he missed the assembly meetings.

"There was no drinking, nothing like that involved," he said. "They just want to get rid of me."

But Nitsiza told News/North many residents in Whati are upset that Rabesca didn't show up to the planned assembly meeting there earlier this month. At the time, chiefs delivered a letter to Rabesca asking him to explain his intentions as chief, since the assembly couldn't legally go on without the grand chief and the Tlicho government had already spent thousands of dollars on travel expenses.

"There's a lot of cost involved and I think people are acknowledging all this. We certainly have concerns," Nitsiza said, adding a few people have already expressed interest in taking over for Rabesca as grand chief, once council decides whether that replacement should be temporary or permanent."Definitely, we have to do that in order to carry on our business," he said. "There's been some interest but again, we'll deal with it as it comes up."

Rabesca has been with the Tlicho government for 30 years. He was elected grand chief in September 2009 after previously serving as grand chief during negotiations leading up to the 2005 signing of the Tlicho self-government agreement. Much his time the past year has been spent on negotiations over hunting limits for the Bathurst caribou herd, which were announced two weeks ago.

He said he plans to spend his three months off on the trapline, since, he said, he hasn't had a vacation since he was elected.

"Me and my kids and my grandchild, we're just going to disappear in the bush. That's something I really wanted to do and it never happened. So let the assembly decide what they want to do."

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