The foundation has not yet responded to the lawsuit, which was originally filed by Radio Canada in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on May 19.

In the statement, Smiley said that in the second year of the program, she was told that Kakfwi would serve as a mentor in 2018. Smiley said that the foundation organized a gathering in St. John’s in early June of that year so that scholars could get to know their mentors and spend time with them.

The smiley said that she and Kafvi had dinner together in a restaurant on the first night. At the end of dinner, he invited her to visit him at his home in Yellowknife. Smiley said in the lawsuit that the offer made her feel uncomfortable.

After dinner, the two shared a taxi back to their hotel. When they said goodnight in the empty hotel lobby, the smiley said that Kakfwi approached her, grabbed her upper arm and squeezed it. He held her arm, rubbed and massaged, until she panicked and pulled away.

She said that at the end of the four-day party, Kafvi grabbed her by the arm in the same way and again invited him to visit her in Yellowknife, saying that she could stay in his spare bedroom.

Neither Smiley nor Kakfwi responded to CBC North’s call or message.

The foundation said it handled the allegation in a “deeply concerned” manner.

In a statement signed by the vice chairman of the board of directors, Dyane Adam, the foundation said that it “supported” Smiley, paid her legal fees, and arranged “to work with her, her consultants and her Support peer meetings”.

The statement said: “Smiley subsequently decided not to file a formal complaint, which led to an independent investigation.”

The foundation also stated that Smiley chose not to complain to external inspectors. It stated that it would not make any further comments on this case.

“Shaken, distressed and frustrated”

Smiley said in the statement that her interaction with Kafvi at St. John’s made her “very shaken, distressed and frustrated.” She said that she felt particularly scared and intimidated because she needed a favorable recommendation letter from Kafwe to get the scholarship for the coming year.

Smiley is studying for a PhD at Concordia University in Montreal, where her research focuses on male violence against indigenous women and girls. She said that she relied on funds from the foundation to pay for living expenses, and “always living in fear” worried about being cut off.

Smiley said that four days after the meeting, she introduced the Kafvi-related incident to the new chairman of the foundation. According to the claim, Smiley then detailed these incidents in an email and said that she did not want Kakfwi to be her mentor.

In her lawsuit, Smiley said that the incoming president said in an email reply: “These incidents shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry, you have to deal with these incidents.”

But Xiaolian said that this was one of the few examples of support she received from the foundation because she tried to get the foundation to resolve her complaint.

In the statement, Smiley said that a few days later, in a phone call, the CEO of the foundation accused her of “exaggerating” and stated that for her, the CEO apparently did not believe her. She said that the foundation later told her that Kafvi would no longer be her mentor and put pressure on her to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which would prevent her from talking about it.

“Highly sensitive” information

Smiley said in court documents that foundation officials told her that it was in her best interest not to talk about it, and implied that if she did this, Kafvi could sue her and that he could accuse the foundation of racism. Kakfwi is Dene.

The smiling face said that in the next year, due to the delay in obtaining scholarships and being accused of having the root cause of the “addiction problem”, she fell into “frustration, anxiety and fear”.

Smiley stated in her claim that the retaliation against her peaked in December last year.At that time, the chairman of the foundation’s board of directors attacked her in an e-mail that also disclosed ” [Smiley] And her handling of Mr. Kakfwi’s sexual harassment complaint. ”

Smiley asked the court to order the foundation to pay her US$500,000 in damages for breach of contract, US$500,000 and punitive damages of US$250,000 for breach of trust.

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation defines itself as an independent charity without political affiliation. It was established in 2001 to pay tribute to the former prime minister. The organization is piloting leadership and mentoring programs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau no longer participates in the foundation. However, since he was founded in 2001, he has been involved until 2014. His brother Alexandre Trudeau represents his father’s residence but does not participate in his daily activities. The federal government invested $125 million in the core business of the foundation in 2002.

Disclosure: Stephen Kakfwi is married to Marie Wilson, who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)/Radio-Canada.