The village of Slocan City is located on the shores of Slocan Lake in B.C.'s West Kootenay. Slocan City Mayor Madeleine Perriere's husband and two sons are facing charges in connection with a marijuana grow-op, CBC News has learned. (Village of Slocan City)

The mayor of a small village in B.C.'s West Kootenay region says she had no idea her family was allegedly running a marijuana grow-op, and she won't step down over what she considers a private affair.

On Aug. 23, police raided a medium-sized outdoor grow operation in the Slocan Valley in southeastern B.C., seizing 657 pot plants and an undisclosed amount of cash.

Three men were charged in connection with the grow-op, which was located on Crown land near McKean Road in Winlaw.

The RCMP did not release their names at the time of the bust, but CBC News has since learned the three men facing charges are Slocan City Mayor Madeleine Perriere's husband and two sons.

Perriere, a first-term mayor, addressed the issue at a recent council meeting, saying that prior to their arrest, she had no clue her family was allegedly involved in the drug trade.

The mayor hasn't returned CBC calls, but Coun. Patricia McGreal said the mayor told council it is a private matter, and as a family the Perrieres are ready to face it.

"She stood up and laid it out there and really put the priorities straight. 'We are here to deal with the business of the village and my other life … can be dealt with outside the council chambers,' " McGreal recalled.

And the village councillors stand behind their mayor, despite pending criminal charges against her family, according to McGreal.

"They feel sympathy for the mayor that this has happened, but has nothing to do with her being mayor," she said.