THE president of the Tahltan Central Government has been suspended with pay by its central board of directors following a signed complaint sent to it.
Details of the complaint against Chad Day, 29, re-elected to a second two-year term as president this past July, are not being released.
The complaint is being investigated by a third party, said Tahltan Central Government executive director Calvin Carlick.
“This is not a disciplinary measure. This is a process that we would follow through with any employee,” said Carlick of the paid suspension.
“The [Tahltan Central Government] has a prescribed set of steps for the investigation of complaints.”
It is not yet known how long the third party investigation might last.
The Tahltan Central Government is the political arm of the Tahltan nation and is separate from the councils governing the Tahltan First Nation which has reserves in Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake and the Iskut First Nation which has a reserve at Iskut.
As such it speaks for Tahltan people on issues involving the approximately 94,000 square kilometres of traditional Tahltan territory which includes the headwaters of the Stikine, Nass and Skeena rivers.
The territory is also rich in minerals and has within it the Red Chris copper and gold mine.
Following the completion of the investigation, the board of directors, which is made up of representatives of the 10 main Tahltan families, will decide on next steps, said Carlick.
Shortly after his 2014 election, Day found himself dealing with a blockade staged by Tahltan and others on the road leading to the Imperial Metals-owned Red Chris copper and gold mine which was then under construction.
That blockade went up after the tailings pond burst at the Mount Polley copper mine which is located in the Cariboo and also owned by Imperial Metals.
The blockade went up in support of those affected by the Mount Polley tailings pond failure and to ensure more stringent environmental measures would take place at Red Chris.
Day was involved in the sequence of events which did lead to changes in the way waste and tailings would be handled at the mine.
That led to a permit being granted for the mine to open in 2015.
