Grand chief admits guilt

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After proclaiming her innocence for almost a year, Grand Chief Margaret Swan changed her plea to guilty in late March.

The Southern (Manitoba) Chiefs Organization grand chief stood accused of misappropriating $61,000 from her band two years ago when she was chief of the Lake Manitoba First Nation.

When she pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000, a fraud charge was dropped.

Swan was arrested and charged days after last July's election for national chief. She had been a vocal member of the implementation committee that lobbied aggressively in Ottawa and across the country against the First Nations governance act.

After admitting her guilt, Swan was put on administrative leave-suspended with pay. She will be sentenced on May 20.

Her lawyer, Winnipeg criminal defence attorney Greg Brodsky, asked the judge to grant a conditional or absolute discharge, a move the Crown opposed.

Because of the guilty plea, evidence was not presented in court and details of the crime have not been made available. It's expected those details will be revealed during the sentencing hearing.

If no conviction is entered, Swan would be able to fight to remain in politics. But many chiefs in the province are saying there's no room in First Nation leadership circles for a convicted criminal.

Sandy Bay Chief Irvin McIvor is the chair of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council. He also sits on the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs' executive. He's among the chiefs who are calling on Swan to step down.

"She pleaded guilty. She actually changed her plea at the last minute and the chiefs are wanting her to step down," he said. "We have a summit coming up in May after her sentencing. From what I'm hearing, everybody wants her to step down. She should just step down instead of prolonging the agony. She's suspended with pay so we're giving her a paid holiday, I guess."

Continuing on in a position of leadership after admitting to a criminal act can only reflect badly on all First Nation leaders, he added.

"I think her lawyer's trying to get her a conditional discharge, which would mean she won't have a criminal record so she could stay on. But that's still neither here nor there. You did the crime and just because you only got a slap on the wrist doesn't mean you didn't do the crime," he said.

Not all chiefs are calling for her to resign.

Rolling River First Nation Chief Morris Shannacappo suggested that Swan may have entered a guilty plea as part of a legal strategy. He said he will wait until he sees more of the evidence before he makes up his mind.

"I still support her and I'm still standing behind her," he said. "It's unfortunate she said she was guilty, when she tells me she's not guilty. I'll wait and see."

Grand Chief Swan said that, on the advice of her legal counsel, she could not comment on the case until after May 20. She said she would make her case at a Manitoba chiefs' summit scheduled for May 27.

"I'll be doing some major stuff with the media after May 20, and at the summit on May 27, I intend to try and have that open to the media," she told Windspeaker.