Ottawa

In some cases, it can be considered a compliment when one’s departure leaves an organization “on the verge of collapse” …

… but not, however, when it comes to the furore that continues to swirl around former Congress of Aboriginal People national chief Patrick Brazeau, one of the eighteen senators-in-waiting named to the Upper Chamber by the Prime Minister just before Christmas:

The national aboriginal organization led until last Friday by new Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau is on the verge of collapse amid the fallout from his controversial leadership as national chief.

Affiliates of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, which represents off-reserve natives from Ontario and the western provinces, are threatening to pull out unless their board members receive a report they’ve been demanding on allegations of sexual harassment filed last March against Mr. Brazeau.

They are also demanding the recognition of an Alberta affiliate and the reinstatement of the Manitoba wing, suspended just days before the annual general meeting. The Manitoba president has said he intended to go public at the meeting with allegations of harassment and heavy drinking by senior staff at the Congress’s Ottawa headquarters.

The abrupt end to Brazeau’s tenure as chief may also have an impact on the distinctly Conservative-friendly stance that has been taken by the Congress in recent years — it was the only aboriginal organization to endorse the Conservatives in both 2006 and 2008 — which was probably not exactly the outcome that the PM had in mind:

Mr. Dennis said the board members believe Mr. Brazeau’s repeated backing of the Conservatives is the reason he was appointed to the Senate.

“We’re definitely against that Conservative agenda, looking at how the Conservatives have treated our people in the past, and if these allegations are true, if there was a misconduct of some form between himself and the former employee and it’s vindicated through the human-rights case, then I think he should step down from his [Senate] position,” Mr. Dennis said.

UPDATE: A Reader points out that, should worse come to worst and his appointment somehow fail to materialize, Brazeau can always make a return to the runway.

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