Vuntut Gwitchin councillors resign, leaving only chief, deputy chief on council

Two Vuntut Gwitchin councillors have resigned from their positions, leaving only the chief and deputy chief in leadership.

Katriel Villacorta and Esau Schaferboth submitted theirresignations on Jan. 4.

The Vuntut Gwitchin government announced in a press release Jan. 8 that it would be holding a by-election to fill the positions.

In a brief phone interview,Jordan Peterson, Vuntut Gwitchin's director of intergovernmental relations andgovernance, told CBC a date for the by-election hasn't been picked yet. He also said he couldn't comment on whether the by-election would be trying to fill all four councillor positions available on council, or just the two recently-vacated ones.

Villacorta and Schafer's departure leaves only Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm and deputy chiefTracy Rispin in leadership.

Tizya-Tramm did not respond to requests for comment. However, the press release says he and Rispin"remain steadfast in their positions and look forward to working with the new Council members after the by-election."

CBC was unable to reach Schafer and Villacorta declined an interview.

Can't support leadership, says Villacorta

However, in a public Facebook post dated Jan. 4, Villacorta wrote that she resigned "as I no longer feel that I can continue to sacrifice my mental health or my integrity as a strong resilient Indigenous women in leadership.

"I'm grateful for the trust of the Elders that put me in this position and I only hope that my resignation is not looked at as a let down but as a reflection of my character," she wrote."I came here to work for and serve our community and due to what I have experienced over the past 5 months, the current leadership is not one I can continue to support."

Villacourt and Schafer are the latest in a series of councillors to resign from the Vuntut Gwitchin government.

Tizya-Tramm is the only original member remaining on government from Vuntut Gwitchin's 2018 election for chief and council.

Vuntut Gwitchin's next general election is scheduled to take place in November 2022.