Internal investigation underway at Hamilton Community Legal Clinic after rupture with Indigenous committee

The Hamilton Community Legal Clinic (HCLC) is conducting an interior probe pursuing allegations of favoritism and harm against Indigenous women and two-spirit radical connected its Indigenous justness committee.

"These individuals person been profoundly impacted by [actions of the ineligible session leadership] … I would say, immoderate of them are astir apt adjacent traumatized," Nathan Muir, a subordinate of the committee, told CBC Hamilton successful an interview. 

The ineligible clinic, which is provincially funded done Legal Aid Ontario, confirmed to CBC Hamilton successful precocious June its probe into "various unit matters" is ongoing.

The non-profit session offers escaped ineligible assistance to low-income radical successful the Hamilton area. It besides provides services relating to quality rights, tenant rights, societal assistance and workers' compensation. Its Indigenous justness committee, which began successful 2013, is portion of its enactment with marginalized assemblage groups. 

Indigenous leaders successful the metropolis person spoken to CBC successful caller weeks astir a rupture betwixt the ineligible session and the Indigenous community, citing incidents connected "separate occasions." 

Specific details astir the incidents and erstwhile they occurred are not clear, but assemblage members are calling for actions including the betterment of consultation with Indigenous radical and of moving conditions for Indigenous radical interacting with the clinic.

In caller months, names of the committee members, arsenic good arsenic the clinic's Indigenous justness coordinator, Lyndon George, person been removed from the ineligible clinic's website, and astatine slightest 1 of the clinic's committee members has stepped down.

Muir has been portion of the committee for astir 12 years. He said not lone is the dependable of George — who besides goes by NaWalka Geeshy Meegwun — missing successful the assemblage but the ineligible session has not been consulting the committee for astir a year. 

"They are expected to beryllium consulting america connected matters that interest the Indigenous community, and they person not been doing so," Muir told CBC successful precocious June. 

The extremity of the committee, according to the clinic's website, is to "improve entree to justness for Indigenous radical successful Hamilton and surrounding communities."

Muir said the committee, and George, person been "pretty crucial" successful supporting Indigenous radical successful the tribunal process, including immoderate delicate and precocious illustration cases, Muir said.  

Leaders rally extracurricular ineligible clinic

A radical of Indigenous leaders shared their concerns publically for the archetypal clip astatine a rally extracurricular the HCLC connected Main Street successful aboriginal June.

The radical held up signs and chanted, "Where's Lyndon George."

Audrey Davis, the enforcement manager of the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC), spoke successful beforehand of the radical of astatine slightest 2 twelve radical rallying successful enactment of the complainants, who did not talk publicly. 

Davis is simply a subordinate of the Mohawk Turtle Clan and besides co-chair of the Circle of Beads, an Indigenous consultation group.

"On abstracted occasions, 4 antithetic Indigenous women and 2 tone radical person been disrespected and person felt oppressed by words and actions made by enactment astatine the HCLC," said Davis.

Davis said that the incidents were caller and progressive "aggressive words," "unhealthy communication," and "disregard" of commitments by the HCLC to the Indigenous community. The incidents progressive HCLC enactment and members of YÉN:TENE, the clinic's Indigenous justness advisory committee, she said. 

The HCLC committee of director's vice seat Lisa Feinberg told CBC Hamilton the incidents are presently being investigated by an autarkic outer enactment to "ensure neutrality, integrity, and thoroughness."

"Indigenous justness is and volition stay a cardinal precedence for the clinic," Feinberg said successful an email to CBC Hamilton.

Feinberg besides said George remained an worker but is presently connected leave.

Concerns implicit the eagle feather

When the committee began, the assemblage presented the ineligible session with an eagle feather. Muir said the committee is acrophobic the feather remains astatine the session but should beryllium returned to the assemblage oregon handed implicit to George, its taste caretaker. 

The feather is of large importance, said Muir, particularly for Indigenous ineligible clients. For instance, it is sometimes utilized during the tribunal process successful spot of a book to curse on. "We judge it is simply a spiritual being, it's not a possession," Muir said. 

The ineligible session told CBC it was "deeply honoured by this gift" but that "given the allegations made," the session asked a antithetic Indigenous radical to "take interim custody of the feather, until this substance is resolved." 

In a missive to the session shared with CBC Hamilton, Muir wrote that approaching different Indigenous radical astir the feather "is further tokenization and disrespect" to the committee and that the session is ignoring the protocols. 

Muir and Davis besides shared their concerns implicit George's absence. 

George has worked to dispersed consciousness astir caller programs astatine the session that served the Indigenous assemblage and, with YÉN:TENE, helped co-create Circle of Beads.

George besides helped invited the city's archetypal Indigenous Hamilton Police Service liaison successful 2023.

The Circle of Beads helped unafraid the liaison, established an Indigenous anti-bullying programme and helped name Hamilton's archetypal Indigenous manager astatine metropolis hall, according to HCLC's 2024 yearly report.

At the rally, Davis and others said they were disquieted George has been forced into "silence" arsenic a effect of the interior investigation. 

"He's disconnected the radar," Davis told CBC Hamilton. "He's not astatine work, they didn't counsel the Indigenous assemblage oregon the enactment successful the assemblage that he's nary longer successful the office. He's conscionable nowhere."

George declined to remark to CBC Hamilton astir the quality of the leave. 

Feinberg said Indigenous clients continued to beryllium supported astatine the clinic. 

"During [George's] absence, the session is successful the process of implementing further enactment measures to guarantee that Indigenous clients and assemblage members proceed to person meaningful assistance," Feinberg said.

Davis is calling for circumstantial actions from HCLC, mostly aimed astatine the clinic's committee of directors, including that it: consults Indigenous partners and employees to marque moving conditions safer for Indigenous radical moving with the ineligible clinic; repairs the narration betwixt the 2 parties; acknowledges the harm done to the relationship; receives grooming to amended recognize Indigenous people; and reinstates the justness coordinator. 

The calls to enactment besides see that the HCLC's enforcement manager is removed from "supervisory oregon absorption roles and responsibilities implicit immoderate Indigenous staff" astatine the clinic.