Woman who accused former grand chief of sex assault denies defamation claim in lawsuit defence

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This article was published 07/12/2023 (687 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman targeted in a countersuit by Arlen Dumas has filed a statement of defence, refuting claims made by the now-former grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs that she intentionally attempted to defame him.

The move is the latest development in a lengthy legal battle in which both parties have accused each other of misrepresenting sexual encounters they agree occurred in 2022 while they were colleagues at the Indigenous government organization.

“The plaintiff at all relevant times was truthful, fair and altruistic. She spoke publicly on the matter of high public importance to support women in similar circumstances,” reads her statement of defence, filed Nov. 23 in Court of King’s Bench.

The woman, who the Free Press is not naming due to the sexual nature of her allegations, filed a civil suit against Dumas Aug. 30 accusing him of sexually assaulting her multiple times and using his authority as grand chief to physically, verbally and professionally intimidate her over the course of several months.

None of the claims have been tested in court and police have not announced any criminal charges against Dumas.

Dumas filed a countersuit and statement of defence Nov. 2 denying the claims and accusing the woman of making “frivolous, vexatious and scandalous” allegations that damaged his reputation and publicly humiliated him.

He denied he held authority over the woman, insisted the sexual encounters were consensual and referenced a series of public statements she made online and in media outlets — including the Free Press — over the course of the last 18 months, calling them defamatory.

In her statement of defence, the woman argues the onus of proving consent falls to Dumas as the defendant. She reiterates he was her direct superior and calls for the countersuit to be dismissed — saying all statements she made publicly are protected as fair comment.

The suit references news articles detailing accusations against Dumas from another woman, dating back to 2019.

“The alleged defamatory communications would not lower the reputation of the defendant in the eyes of a reasonable reader since the communications do not deviate from other voluminous and publicly available material regarding the defendant’s reputation,” the statement of defence says.

“It is of significant public interest, particularly to the AMC’s general assembly, constituents and to Indigenous people from coast to coast, if an elected leader engages in sexual harassment, exploitation and violence against Indigenous women.”

Dumas was suspended as grand chief in March 2022, and then removed from the position five months later, after a third-party organization hired by the AMC investigated the accusation.

The plaintiff was similarly suspended, pending the results of the investigation, which were released to her in a report July 30, 2022.

The AMC previously stated Dumas was removed as a result of the investigation’s findings, but his countersuit denies that.

The woman’s civil suit claims $426,000 in compensation, while Dumas’s countersuit is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca