Chief charges band council is incompetent, corrupt
Chris Derickson says he can’t work with council unwilling to fully address failed sale of band land
In a statement alleging incompetency and a lack of integrity within the upper levels of Westbank First Nation government, Chief Chris Derickson announced his immediate resignation, Friday.
Derickson released a lengthy statement detailing his frustrations over the improper sale of band land by two employees of the administration and the current council's attempts to thwart investigation into the sale.
“The lack of competency, integrity, and moral courage within the WFN council … leave me with no other choice but to resign,” Derickson wrote.
The first-term chief said the enactment of changes recommended by former judge Marion Buller in a report into the sale has in fact shown the situation to be worse than originally thought.
“Beginning to implement these recommendations has brought further evidence of corruption to light,” says Derickson’s statement.
Derickson makes no mention of a criminal investigation into the sale, but Kelowna RCMP Const. Mike Della-Paolera confirmed one is ongoing. He would not comment on the details of the investigation.
The band has also begun civil litigation seeking the return of the lands. Besides Derickson, WFN is governed by councillors Andrea Alexander, Fernanda Alexander, Jordan Coble and Lorrie Hogaboam
In a statement released this afternoon, Coble thanked Derickson for his service and said no byelection to replace him will be necessary because the band’s next general election is less than three months away.
In the statement, the band reiterated its unanimous support for a review of the sale and said it was taking the necessary steps to recover the property.
The Buller report, issued last year, found the March 2021 sale of 147 acres of land on Pincushion Mountain in Peachland undervalued the land by at least $2 million.
The land was part of an ill-fated golf development project begun in 2009 involving golf legend Greg Norman.
Derickson said the report highlighted numerous gaps in governance and raised issues of honesty among former senior administrative employees. He does not name the employees.
The chief blamed the physical toll of the affair as his main reason for resigning.
“Fighting corruption and promoting accountability, integrity and transparency was the right thing to do,” Derickson wrote. “But it has taken a toll on my family and my mental and physical health.”
Derickson was almost through his first three-year term following his defeat of Chief Roxanne Lindley, who was herself a oneterm chief.
Lindley defeated long-term Chief Robert Louie in 2016 after his own involvement in another ill-fated WFN land deal, the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre, a private hospital.