‘I’m an addict’: Councillor facing suit over alleged $300k credit card charges breaks silence

FORT NELSON, B.C. — A Northern Rockies Regional Municipality councillor accused of making “improper charges” of more than $300,000 on a First Nation’s credit card has spoken about her struggle with a gambling addiction.

The Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation (GNN) near Port Hardy has filed a suit with the Supreme Court of British Columbia for damages against its former band administrator Leslie Dickie. 

GNN has accused Dickie of using making “improper charges” totaling more than $328,000 on the band’s corporate credit card between June 2019 and February 2022, alleging the amount owed sometimes exceeded the account’s $15,000 limit.

It also alleges Dickie used funds from GNN’s general bank account to pay off the bills, as well as $6,000 of her own funds.

The civil suit, filed by GNN in February 2024, accuses Dickie “intentionally and knowingly concealed and/or made false representations to GNN auditors and staff regarding the improper charges.”

The document alleges Dickie offered to enter into a repayment plan, but claims she “neglected to repay any amount of the improper charges”.

GNN is asking for damages to cover the alleged amount lost and its legal costs, and to compensate for the band’s alleged loss of reputation, credit rating and purchasing power.

RCMP media relations officer Madonna Saunderson confirmed Dickie is also facing a criminal investigation relating to the alleged debts.

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) councillor Dickie says there are “two sides to every story” and did not admit any wrongdoing.

In a statement, NRRM Mayor Rob Fraser acknowledged Dickie is on a “mandatory leave of absence”  and she had “informed staff and regional council, according to the Community Charter, that she is dealing with the crown over alleged criminal charges,” and the municipality is “following the requirements of the charter until the issue is resolved.”

Although she would not speak about the investigation or civil suit, Dickie opened up about a large problem she faces: gambling.

In an interview with Energeticcity.ca, she spoke of the monster of a crippling gambling addiction, and claims to have lost houses, insurance money and savings to the issue.

“I’ve been telling my friends and people that have asked, ‘don’t believe everything you hear,’” said Dickie, who was serving as interim executive director of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) when the allegations surfaced.

Dickie has since taken a leave of absence from FNFN. 

She says her descent into gambling started around 2014, when her husband of 35 years – Reynold Dickie – was diagnosed with cancer.  

According to Dickie, the couple were “looking forward to retirement” and had built a property overlooking the Pacific Ocean. However, Reynold succumbed to cancer in September 2015.

Dickie says she then spent four years “completely lost and off the ground”, hanging out in casinos and travelling up and down the province.

“It wasn’t even a place that I wanted to go to be with people,” explained Dickie. “I just wanted to go and not have to be in my house or around my family where you’re being asked 100 times ‘how are you? Are you doing okay?’”

A member of the Kwakiutl First Nation on Vancouver Island, Dickie says by the time she was hired as the band administrator for GNN, she was “completely involved” in gambling, spending every waking hour either working or in front of the lights of slot machines.

“Every time I stopped in a city, I was gambling,” said an emotional Dickie. “I went into the casino to escape.”

She said, while in an apartment she owned in Fort Nelson, the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. With isolation a priority and remote working becoming the norm, it is then she said she spiraled out of control.

“You’re spending all this time, 24/7 by yourself,” said Dickie. “The addiction took right over.”

She left GNN in 2020. She said she was unaware of a criminal investigation until the RCMP contacted her in January this year.

Since the allegations surfaced, Dickie said she has reached out to get professional help – including seeking counseling and harm reduction classes.

“The biggest thing is not having to live that lie anymore,” said Dickie. “I’m working with some really awesome people. They’re very supportive and I’m really grateful.”

Both GNN and FNFN told Energeticcity.ca they had no comment on this story.