The Gwich’in Tribal Council says it’s starting an organizational review that will include assessing whether its Edmonton office is worth keeping open.
The Edmonton location, designed to serve Gwich’in people who live in the area, only opened in April 2023 under former grand chief Ken Kyikavichik – who then relocated to Edmonton himself in 2024.
A year after Kyikavichik was voted out of office and replaced by Frederick Blake Jr, the tribal council could move to close the Edmonton premises, saying cost is a factor.
However, interim chief executive officer Brenda McDonald stressed no decisions had been made and the first step is “simply to take a look” at whether an Edmonton presence is offering value for money.
At last week’s Gwich’in Annual Assembly – a fraught three days during which divisions between community leaders were abundantly clear – McDonald told delegates the tribal council is “undertaking a comprehensive review of the current organizational structures, assessing how leadership and staff roles are arranged, how responsibilities are assigned and how decisions are made, to ensure they are clear, efficient and responsive.”
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That review will include an evaluation of physical spaces, she said, including whether they are “accessible, functional and responsive to community needs.”
“A specific focus will be on the practicality and cost effectiveness of maintaining the Edmonton office,” she said during last Friday’s third and final day of the assembly.
“The costs to build out the Edmonton and Yellowknife offices cost close to half a million dollars but, over the last three months, only five visitors have accessed the [Edmonton] space, despite roughly 400 Gwich’in living in the Edmonton region.
“The location, for one, is attached to the Edmonton Police Association building. This raises questions about its suitability, and attendance by staff has been inconsistent.”
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She added a newly purchased Gwich’in Tribal Council vehicle assigned to the Edmonton office “remained largely unused in the parking lot.”
“With the lease approaching its end, these realities will be considered alongside alternatives such as establishing a Whitehorse office,” McDonald said, “to ensure future locations are well utilized and meet the community’s needs.”
‘No decisions made’
News that the Edmonton office is being reviewed was greeted with frustration by some delegates and participants.
Lenora McLeod asked if staff in the Edmonton office and others had been notified that a review would take place.
“I guess we’re on a public site right now,” said McDonald, referring to the Facebook live stream of the annual assembly.
“I think the normal way would be to send them a memo and let them know that these things are going to happen. And I think right now, we’ve just announced it to everyone, so that’s how they’re going to hear.”
“That is highly concerning for me as a participant and a delegate around this table,” McLeod responded.
“This is their livelihood. We are basically telling them they may no longer have a job. In my past experience, these conversations happen at the board level first.”
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Another participant said they had attended the Edmonton office multiple times only to find nobody there.
McDonald said it was too early to talk about anyone losing their job.
“You make inferences that immediately people are going to be firing and axing people … this document is a review,” she said.
“There have been no decisions made. It is simply to take a look. Let’s look at it in detail – put a solid report together and make decisions based on that report. That is the professional way to approach it.
“This is simply an assessment tool so that we can provide to this assembly – and to all the participants – the costs that these offices are costing our participants, and whether we might be able to take [the money] and put that back into the community, or put it into the wellness centre, or put it into something local that our people desperately need here.”
