Frederick Blake Jr is new Gwich’in grand chief, judge declares

Frederick Blake Jr has been declared the newly elected Grand Chief of the Gwich’in Tribal Council by an NWT Supreme Court judge.

Blake had been the initial victor in the August 2024 election but the tribal council’s board subsequently overturned the result after Blake’s rival, incumbent Ken Kyikavichik, alleged a series of election rule violations.

The matter proceeded to a lawsuit involving Blake, Kyikavichik and the tribal council.

In a written decision this week, Justice Annie Piché ruled in favour of Blake, declaring him the new grand chief and ordering the Gwich’in Tribal Council not to hold any further election until Blake’s term expires or the position is otherwise vacated.

She said any violation of election rules that did occur was “not sufficient” to call the result of the entire August election into question.

The Gwich’in Tribal Council said it had “no comment at this time” when reached by Cabin Radio.

Kyikavichik said he was “disappointed with the result” and reviewing the decision.

Blake has been approached for comment. A lawyer for Blake said his client may be on the land.

It is possible that the decision could be appealed. The tribal council has yet to indicate how it will act on the judge’s ruling. Kyikavichik acknowledged an appeal was one option but did not immediately commit to doing so without a thorough review of the verdict.

He said the need for a judge to resolve the dispute had been “unfortunate” when reached by phone on Wednesday, adding that in his view, a rerun of the election would have been a quicker way to reach “a firm decision on the people’s choice.”

How the case reached court

The preliminary result of the August 19 election gave Blake 604 votes to Kyikavichik’s 515. They were the only two candidates.

Kyikavichik disputed the result, making allegations related to the timing of a lawsuit, the content of social media posts and “bullying” of the electorate by Blake’s campaign and its associates.

An elections committee set up to review those allegations concluded they were unfounded, adding that allegations Blake had broken a $10,000 spending limit could not be proven.

However, the Gwich’in Tribal Council board’s directors rejected the recommendations of that committee.

The board instead ruled that:

• a lawsuit alleging “oppressive conduct” at the GTC, filed by the Gwichya Gwich’in Council – a component of the GTC, representing the people of Tsiigehtchic – had been timed “with the intention to influence voters” and was associated with members of Blake’s campaign, even though the lawsuit itself was not about the election;
• social media posts “intended to harm or lower the reputation” of Kyikavichik had been posted by people associated with Blake’s campaign; and
• Blake had provided receipts too late for analysis of his campaign spending to take place, leading to “an inability to determine in a timely and concrete manner whether or not the spending limit was exceeded,” which the board said created an “inequitable circumstance amongst candidates.”

The GTC board decided to wipe out the result and hold a new election “as soon as possible,” at which point Blake challenged the board’s decision in court.

What the judge said

In this week’s written ruling, Piché said the Gwich’in Tribal Council’s board had “offended the principles of procedural fairness and natural justice” in the way it handled Kyikavichik’s complaint immediately following the election.

The judge said the board had not engaged in a “meaningful” assessment of libel allegations Kyikavichik made because it failed to provide key documents – or a right of reply – to people other than Blake who were accused of violations that the complainant linked to Blake’s campaign.

By taking Kyikavichik’s version of events without hearing from some of those accused, the judge said the board had conducted itself in a way that “raises real concerns about the board’s impartiality.”

The judge added that the board had shown “inflexibility” in the matter of Blake’s receipts because he sent some materials after a deadline had passed, but Kyikavichik had been allowed to submit some materials after a separate deadline earlier in the process.

Lastly, the judge noted that Kelly McLeod, vice-chair of the board, had been identified by Kyikavichik as a friend. McLeod had publicly supported Kyikavichik’s re-election campaign. The judge said this led to a “reasonable perception” that McLeod might not act impartially – a perception the board did not appropriately handle.

All told, Piché concluded, the board “breached some of the most fundamental principles of fair adjudication.”

More: Read the judge’s ruling in full

The judge also examined the allegations Kyikavichik had made against Blake. She said the bullying allegation could not be backed up and the issue of the GGC lawsuit’s timing had not been proven.

While three social media posts by other people were more likely than not libellous, and Blake’s late filing of his campaign expense receipts did violate the election’s rules, the judge said these were not grounds to “call into question the results of the entire election.”

Having reached that conclusion, she declared Blake to be the victor.