Waswanipi Chief John Kitchen could be facing a 14-day prison term over a drinking-and-driving charge laid against him just before New Year’s Day, according to a Crown prosecutor in Val d’Or.
Kitchen was charged after a long provincial police investigation into an alleged August 3 incident in which his vehicle, a red Ford Explorer, went off the road between Desmaraisville and Waswanipi late in the night. The vehicle missed hitting a traffic sign by mere centimetres as it skidded sideways into a ditch.
The criminal charge comes at an awkward time for the embattled chief. Before the holidays, he was asked by some community elders and the band council to consider resigning due to personal problems he is facing not related to the drinking-and-driving charge.
Kitchen agreed to step down and, according to sources, requested a generous severance package, which the council agreed to.
After the holidays, however, Kitchen changed his mind. His position as chief and his personal difficulties were discussed at length at a community general assembly on January 13.
The community agreed to hold a referendum the following day on whether he should stay on until his term is up this summer. The vote was 177-to-121 in favour of Kitchen staying on (with five ballots spoiled).
“After the holidays, people said. Don’t resign. There are still things that need to be done,” Kitchen told The Nation. “Those were personal things that they were looking at. You can live the way you want to live.”
Kitchen wanted to thank his supporters and forgives those who opposed him. “I apologized to people for some of the things I did and the way I live,” he said. “I guess it’s a lesson that we should learn from, all of us.”
As for the drinking-and-driving charge, Kitchen claimed no charges had been laid against him in the case. He struck a defiant note when asked for a comment. “There are other people who drink and drive. Nothing is said about them. So why just me? These are personal things they do to me.”
But Val d’Or prosecutor Marie-Claude Bélanger said a criminal charge was indeed laid against Kitchen on December 29. The chief’s first court appearance will be in Senneterre on March 15, according to the Amos court clerk.
It’s not the first time Kitchen has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. In September 1997, he was sentenced to a $300 fine over an earlier drinking-and-driving incident. Because the latest charge is Kitchen’s second for drunk driving, the prosecutor has the option of filing a “notice of a repeat offense,” in which case perpetrators face a minimum 14-day jail sentence, according to Bélanger.
Whether the prosecutor files such a notice depends on a number of factors, like how long it’s been since the first offense, Bélanger said.
Peter Gull, a former chief who is now president of the band-owned Mishtuk Corporation, said the vote should send a message that there have to be changes in the way the band is run.
“That’s what 40 per cent of the electors said. It should be a very clear message to the council that they should start making changes,” he said.
Gull noted that 303 people voted in the referendum on whether Kitchen should stay as chief, whereas less than 200 were present at the general assembly. In other words, 100 people didn’t hear all the issues being discussed, he said.
“I’m not really sure they (those who voted) really understood what the issue was.”
Gull said he supported the band council’s request that Kitchen consider resigning. For him, the issue wasn’t Kitchen’s family life, but the chief’s frequent absences from the community, which Gull said have left Waswanipi leaderless.
“If he’s away 80 per cent of the time from the community, how is he to perform his mandate to the community?” asked Gull in an interview.
“When he’s not around, I’m not sure who does his tasks.”
Granted, a chief has to attend a lot of outside meetings, but Gull said when he was chief he was still able to spend a reasonable amount of time in the community.
Gull said Kitchen is involved with too many outside organizations that distract him from his work as chief, such as the Fonds régionale de solidarité Nord-du-Québec.
Gull was not aware of Kitchen’s latest drunk-driving charge when asked for his opinion about it. He said: “Personal issues are not important, unless it affects his work.”
But another community member said the chief’s personal problems are a public issue. “You’re a public figure. You’re the person we look at as a leader. How will the children look at it?”
