The chief of the Lower Kootenay Band says an arbitrator’s decision allowing him and councillor Sandra Luke to keep their jobs is “is not a victory.”
Jason Louie declined an interview request, but provided a prepared statement: “The arbitrator’s decision is not a victory. There is no glory and there are no winners. What the Lower Kootenay Band must do is find a way to work towards healing. There won’t be any quick solutions or easy fix as to how we will reconcile. The Lower Kootenay Band has always been a resilient community. In due time, we will pick up the pieces and move forward.”
An arbitration hearing was held in Creston last month after Louie’s uncle Wayne brought a petition against him and Luke calling for their ouster.
At issue was a long-running case involving the payment in 2009 of $125,000 to the band from the Regional District of Central Kootenay as compensation to use a road crossing the band’s reserve.
Band members awarded themselves payments of $5,000, something the BC Court of Appeal later concluded was a breach of fiduciary duty and ordered them to repay the money.
“I find that this case is close to the line in terms of conduct that would warrant removal,” arbitrator Marko Vesely wrote in his decision.
“I am troubled by aspects of the respondent’s conduct, in particular their failure to repay any of the money since the Court of Appeal’s decision was issued. However, I find their explanation as to why they believed they could receive the money in 2009 and how they have not yet paid it back to be sufficient to satisfy me that their breach of fiduciary duty was not conscious or willful.”
Wayne Louie says while he needs to talk to the other petitioners, it may not be the end of the line for the case. He hasn’t ruled out seeking a judicial review.
The arbitrator’s full decision can be found here.