TORONTO -- Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP is calling for the removal of Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford over his connection to a Kenora lawyer who was accused of mishandling financial settlements for residential school survivors.
The claims against a former colleague of Rickford’s at the law firm were never substantiated, but prompted a review by the Law Society of Ontario of how it handles complaints of lawyer misconduct from Indigenous clients.
NDP leader Andrea Horwath admitted there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Rickford himself, but said his decision to later vouch for the other lawyer showed poor judgment.
She argued along with Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa in a virtual press conference Friday the issue had undermined trust in him to the point that he should be removed from his Indigenous affairs portfolio.
The Kenora MP is also the minister of northern development, mines, natural resources and forestry.
Rickford worked on residential school compensation claims during his time at the legal firm over a decade ago, eventually signing a settlement agreement with the federal government on behalf of some survivors.
He later served as a character witness for a colleague who had been accused by dozens of clients of improperly handling financial settlements for residential school survivors. He did so during Law Society of Ontario hearings into the complaints that ended in 2017, the NDP said.
Mamakwa claimed that fact fatally undermined trust in Rickford among survivors.
“It’s time for this government to wipe the slate clean, out of respect for thousands of residential school survivors in Ontario,” he said. “He must go.”
The government rejected the claims in a short statement Friday.
“Every single allegation against the member of this law firm were withdrawn or dismissed,” said Ivana Yelich, media director for Premier Doug Ford. “Any inferences to the minister and these allegations are completely false.”
Yelich also claimed Rickford was “decades removed from the events that were complained about,” despite the fact he worked at the law firm on residential school settlements during the period when his colleague’s misconduct was alleged to have occurred.
Neither Yelich nor Rickford’s office have yet responded to a request to clarify that claim.
Horwath and Mamakwa were joined by residential school survivors at the media event Friday
Edmund Metatawabin, a survivor of St. Anne’s residential school and former Fort Albany chief, said Rickford’s connection to the law firm and decision to serve as a character witness raised questions over his character.
“Representing people demands good character, integrity, honesty,” he said. “If there is a question behind the person’s ability to be honest by looking at their background, then obviously the reference check has not been done well enough.”
There is no indication Rickford engaged in any wrongdoing, the NDP acknowledged.
There was also never any finding of misconduct in the case of his colleague who was the subject of complaints.
A Law Society of Ontario review was closed in 2017 without substantiating any claims. The parties instead agreed for the lawyer to be reviewed by the law society.
“The case did not unfold as expected and the outcome of supervisory conditions was the only viable option,” said Law Society treasurer Paul Schabas at the time. “Our experience with this particular case exposed serious systemic issues involving the Law Society’s regulatory and hearing process in relation to Indigenous issues.”
The LSO said the lawyer would “receive corrective advice and guidance, so that past lapses and mistakes are not repeated. He will attend another ITA in Toronto in a few months, after he has had time to reflect further on his actions. He has also agreed to undergo a number of practice reviews and professional development requirements to ensure his practices meet the required standards.”
On Friday, Garnet Angeconeb of Lac Seul First Nation said the breakdown of the LSO process is still "unfinished business" that deserves an investigation -- a call endorsed by Metatawabin.
"When the Law Society fails, such as in this matter, where do survivors go to launch a complaint? I think it would be encumbent upon the federal department of justice to probe what happened."
Angeconeb said the call for Rickford's removal was about a perceived lack of trust.
“For me, it’s optics – the whole thing does not look good,” he said.
Asked why the concerns were being brought forward now, years after the complaints about Rickford’s colleague had been aired publicly, Horwath said the party had only recently learned about the issue.
That came after survivors raised concerns about his role working with First Nations searching for potential grave sites at former residential schools, she said.
“It was up to the survivors to determine when they felt comfortable raising it and moving forward on it,” she said. “It’s very recent we’ve learned of this, and our job is to provide that opportunity for [survivors] to tell their story.”
