Is Theresa Spence’s Alleged Fiscal Mismanagement Serious Because She is an Indian, or Because She Is Not a Conservative Cabinet Minister?
Under the circumstances, it’s actually a little surprising that it took this long. Through a convenient leak to the state broadcaster, presumably from the government, evidence has surfaced that hunger strike chief Theresa Spence’s Attawapiskat First Nation does a terrible job of keeping their books. An internal audit which the government ordered last winter, during the reserve’s housing crisis, has been mysteriously released to the public just at a time when Spence was gaining widespread public attention through her hunger strike.
Now, first of all, it’s not good to see any elected leader apparently responsible for very serious fiscal mismanagement. Assuming the audit report is genuine, this would appear to be evidence that the Attawapiskat government is guilty on that just charge. Sixth Estate’s position on such matters is well known: elected leaders who abuse the public trust should be turfed, unceremoniously and expeditiously.
There are, however, three extremely disturbing elements of this story, which the media, in its salivating frenzy to humiliate its selected victim, is gleefully overlooking. The first is simply factual. A quick trip to Wikipedia shows that Spence has only been chief since August 2010. (She was deputy chief for a couple of years before that.) Yet the government audit started in April 2005 and ran to November 2011. So the new outrage seems a little bit like claiming that Stephane Dion or Justin Trudeau are responsible for the sponsorship scandal.
Second, and more importantly, this is a more obvious instance than most in which “anonymous leaks” are a very dubious way to operate the free press. Who leaked this story? It seems hard to imagine it was anyone other than a member of the government hoping to embarrass a political opponent from behind the defensive shield of anonymity provided for them, free of charge, by the media. Sixth Estate and other bloggers are repeatedly attacked by the media for using pen names, since if you don’t use your real name, it opens the door to making baseless attacks against defenceless opponents. Apparently journalists do not feel that the same ethic need apply in their own work.
But one has to ask about the intentions of the leaker. The Canadian right — indeed, the Canadian mainstream — really did not need any further persuading: judging from the editorial stances of almost all major newspapers in this country, they already think that Spence is an egotistical attention-grabber with no legitimate claims. Spence has already been accused of everything from blackmail to terrorism on the pages of the nation’s media; in contrast, accusing her of failing to save all of her receipts is actually a surprisingly petty charge. Harper had already conceded to a meeting. This leak will probably only further polarize Canadians, which may well have been the intention.
The second element of hypocrisy is even more extraordinary. Contrary to what the braying sycophants in the press corps seem to think, unless you are an Attawapiskat Cree, what Spence’s government has been doing with federal grant money is irrelevant to you. It’s not your money. That money was given to the Attawapiskat First Nation, prior to the housing crisis, and it would have been provided regardless of who was in charge. The Attawapiskat now need to take up with their own government the issue of serious fiscal mismanagement, and act accordingly. The rest of us do not have a horse in this game. Sorry.
The reason I make this point is that when similar fiscal shenanigans are documented on the part of the federal government that is answerable to the rest of us, the people who are so angry about Spence are mysteriously and notably muted in their criticism. As just one example, take the G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund. This $50 million grant pool actually started in the budget as a border security improvement project. Under Industry Minister Tony Clement, it was recast as an infrastructure subsidy fund, and all of the money then vanished, almost without a trace, into his own riding, in exchange for gazebos and other trinkets. The Auditor-General attempted to investigate, but could not fully complete her investigation because no paperwork on the grants process survived and the departments she contacted all denied that they had been involved in that process altogether.
You might think that evidence of such scandalous misuse of public funds — burning up on a two-day Toronto conference in an unrelated cottage-country riding half of what the Attapiskat Cree received over five years in the lead-up to the recently leaked audit — would put a dent in the good minister’s career prospects. After all, people rightly seem to think the audit raises questions about Theresa Spence’s leadership credibility.
If you thought that, though, you would be wrong. Tony Clement didn’t get fired, or even demoted, for the gazebo slush fund. Instead, he got promoted to President of the Treasury Board, a position which now puts him in nominal charge of all government accounts. This promotion passed with hardly more than a sleepy yawn from the press. The gazebo slush fund got a few days of commentary, but reporters let it go quickly enough. Nobody really seemed to care, then or since.
So the question is: is Spence’s fiscal mismanagement worse because she is an Indian, or because she isn’t a Conservative? It must be one of those, or we wouldn’t be getting the howls of outrage from the right-wing media that we are now getting. Canadians deserve to know which one.
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Troy
I don’t know if it’s the same thing as what was leaked, but Attawapiskat financial statements are on the internet, for all to see:
http://www.attawapiskat.org/financial-statements/
They’ve been audited from 2005 to last year, thus far, by an external auditor. I don’t know if this is a band or government selected auditor.
I don’t know what the problem is. I, perhaps like the reporter who rushed to get this ‘story’ out probably, don’t know the difference between what consolidated and non-consolidated means. I try reading through it all, and find it to be very dense and boring.
I’ve quoted from the consolidated financial statements:
2005: “During the course of the aforementioned audit, we encountered no discrepancies on this consolidated
schedule. However, no procedures have been carried out on this consolidated schedule in addition to
those necessary to form an opinion on the consolidated financial statements taken as a whole.”
2006: “In our opinion these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the
First Nation as at March 31, 2006 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then
ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for First Nations.”
2007: In our opinion these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
the First Nation as at March 31, 2007 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then
ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.”
2008: “In our opinion these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
the First Nation as at March 31,2008 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then
ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.”
2009: “In our opinion these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
the First Nation as at March 31,2008 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then
ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.”
2010: “In our opinion these financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the
First Nation as at March 31, 2010 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then
ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.”
2011: “In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the First Nation as at March 31, 2011 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting principles.”
The auditor didn’t express an opinion on the non-consolidated financial statements. They did say everything added up, though.
It’s also unfair to judge Attawapiskate on one unreleased and probably incomplete audit, when the seven that proceeded have found no wrong doing on the band’s part. You need to remember this audit won’t be completed and released until around March!
Troy
Okay, now I’ve read part of the audit you were talking about. So never mind my previous comment’s last line or two.
I’ve got a headache from reading this audit, from stress and anger. I’ll share my comments that I left at Dr Dawg’s:
The band’s been under co-management for ten years.
The seven previous audits found no wrong-doing. All the arithmetic is sound.
And reading through this new audit, I’m scratching my head. Eh? What sort of catch-22 is the auditor trying to suggest to the band?
The band must “meet or exceed National Building Code of Canada standards” in its housing program? Well, okay, but hasn’t the main complaint of Attawapiskat been that its funding from the federal government doesn’t allow it to do so?
And, “replacement reserve fund had not been set up in a separate account and were continuously underfunded”. Well, yes. Attawapiskat has been protesting they’ve been underfunded for housing by the federal government. I don’t know what the band is able to do about this, except perhaps destroy many of the houses that are on reserve, and render the occupents homeless. Then they would be able to get their budget in line with what the auditor is suggesting.
I guess it’s just an audit, but the political reality of what the band can do in the face of government underfunding and even interference isn’t also recorded in it.
Nadine Lumley
Billy Nobels @0lddutch
CORRECTED BwahahahahahRT @datatect: Attawapiskat auditor Deliotte partner fined $235k 4 ‘shoddy accounting’ http://bit.ly/TGYxMP #IdleNoMore
.
the salamander horde
A red man was challenged by an educated wealthy white man to a duel. The reason being the white dude claimed the redskin dude splashed mud on the white dude’s wife or mistress.. soiled her pretty dress.
The redman.. was a blacksmith by trade and stood easily 6 feet 6 inches.. a huge target for the white man’s pistol at 20 paces.
The red man was well read, educated and in fact a gentleman and free man. After apologizing graciously to the lady, he accepted the challenge and duel but specified that he would choose the weapons and the grounds. After all he was the recipient of the challenge.
This is where we find ourselves as Canadians today. Whether we are of Irish ancestry, black, Sri Lankan, Jamaican, Polish or First Nations, we are being told to go stand in the mud, by our very own Prime Minister, or his chosen Ministerial thug so we can be shot down like a dog in the mud.. or ignored.. or run over by the regal carriage ..
The moral of the story you ask ?
The blacksmith, as was his right.. chose the weapons and ground.. Sledgehammers in 6 feet of muddy water … and requested his taller, larger brother as his second. The pompous effete white man withdrew the challenge in disgrace … tho the honor of the woman was upheld ..
6th … we need champions like you .. with sledgehammers.. and I know you’re intolerant of bullies. The jeering asshats spilling from the saloon to see the uppity injun fall dead in the mud go back to their dull lives disappointed.
Others will see courage, class, education, culture.. pride that cannot be extinguished.. an exemplar and her seconds who stand their ground and have a heritage of doing so.
Let the political animals, accountants and dietitians froth over fish broth, calories or Ikea monkeys.. we need real people, exemplars who will live in a teepee by the river, starve for weeks and somehow walk quietly in beauty .. speak for themselves and their land.
If you could have one magical evening… what would it be ? With whom ?
Chief Theresa Spence by the river in a teepee .. fish broth or less
Great white father Stephen Harper on Sussex .. executive chef
You get one lightning moment
to choose where your heart beats Canada ….
Its the teepee for me..
Troy
Found another article about the Deliotte firm: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324731304578193840669306624.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Sixth Estate
Deloitte is a major firm. It’s unsurprising that some of its employees have on occasion done some misdeeds, but on the whole, it’s a major company with an established reputation. There’s no reason to think that this audit’s contents wouldn’t reflect that.
That said, the audit will have been conducted according to the terms of reference set by the government, and those terms may be worth questioning.
Holly Stick
Yukon Hulk points out that the scope of the audit was to see if AANDC management control framework was working (page 8). So how did it become more about Attawapiskat and the current chief than how AANDC does its job?:
https://twitter.com/YukonHulk/status/288384321797120001
Sixth Estate
The audit report that was leaked includes several appended documents, one of which is a letter from the auditor to the Attawapiskat notifying them of several shortcomings which cropped up in connection with the investigation.
It’s worth noting that these irregularities involve the paperwork which was stipulated under specific grant and contribution agreements from Indian Affairs. The actual financial accounts of the band are audited, separately, annually, and have been stated to be in good order. Also separately.
Sixth Estate
Troy — In answer to your question, the audit was never intended to be a total review of all financial records. As far as I can see, it was an audit of Aboriginal Affairs’ grant program, which turned up the fact that Attawapiskat either didn’t have or wouldn’t share all of the paperwork they’re supposed to retain in connection with those agreements.
Attawapiskat’s annual financial statements are kept and audited separately, and the reports on those have always been in the clear.
Not being an accountant I’m not sure how to reconcile the two sets of reports, but I think the difference is because they were actually investigating different things.
Francien Verhoeven
….was just reading this:
”
From their website: “CBC News obtained a copy of the audit before it was made public…By midday on Monday, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada had posted the audit on its website. The federal government was required to make the report public on or before Jan. 16 — 90 days after the deputy minister of aboriginal affairs signed off on it.”
“So it appears that it was procedural release and wasn’t leaked at all.”
I am asking the Sixthestate: Could this be so?
Sixth Estate
By definition, any time a member of the public (including a reporter) obtains something “before it is made public,” it can’t be a procedural release, it has to be a leak. The fact that it seems as though only CBC got this early access would seem to bear that out.
The open question is whether Aboriginal Affairs upped their release date because it was already in the news or whether someone inside knew it was coming out anyways and wanted (for whatever reason) to give CBC the scoop.
lee kenney
Its at times like this , I wish “Dead Dog Cafe “was still around , they could do a road trip ! Ottawa , the land of “Pierre Poutine , robocalls, 16 $ OJ and F35′s and convenient leaks . Is this more smoke and mirrors from the PMO.
Annette Cyr
As a former band employee for my own band, I was in a similar situation where I had to prepare reports for INAC and I didn’t have any documentation to support the expenditures and since they were made before I was hired, I had no idea if they were valid or not. I called INAC to find out how to handle it…. their advice? “Make something up”………
spartikus
Specified Audit Procedure 3 shows book-keeping significantly improved after Spence came into office. I would still not call it acceptable, but it did get better.
Beijing York
Good post SE. Lee is right, Tom King and the Dead Dog Cafe would have had a field day with this.
Certainly a double standard at play and the reporting is dishonest and without clarity. Didn’t the court already rule that allegations of funding mismanagement were unfounded and that a 3rd-party manager was uncalled for?
And the timing of the leak does seem suspect. I cringed when I heard about it on the 8:00 am CBC Radio news.
Sixth Estate
Not being an expert in accounting, I can only speculate, but my reading of the report is that it applied specifically to the rules stipulated in some housing grant agreements set up by Aboriginal Affairs. Attawapiskat either did not or could not supply all of the paperwork on expenses which those agreements required.
That is a separate matter from the annual financial statements of the band government, which are audited annually and are apparently declared to be in order annually.
Lexy
When you look at “Specified Auditing Procedures” at about page 61 of the audit (http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/551444-deloitte-audit.html ) and at the following several pages, it looks to me that the accounting for the Band Council is not exactly straightforward and easy.
The Band seems to need to not only allocate expenses into the broad range of expenses but to also report on whether an expense belongs in the “Comprehensive Funding Agreements between the Attawapiskat First Nation and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.”
Furthermore, when Deloitte looked at the 400 test cases of expenses (see about page 68) the entries seem okay to me, apart from the fact that Deloitte has redacted names/vendors for privacy reasons, which seems reasonable.
Now, I expect that “Write down of Accounts Payable” is an adjusting entry in order to place an expense in a particular fiscal year, but then I am not a bookkeeper.
However, under their “Conclusion” column, Deloitte has entered in many cases “No supporting documentation”.
Now, would that not mean that a copy of the invoice or other relevant paper documentation is not appended to the books? And what if no photocopies of said paper documents/invoices were taken and the originals were sent to Ottawa with the reports that go back to AANDC?
What I am suggesting is that the ‘supporting documentation’ may be appended to reports, off reserve and in Ottawa. Often people are not good at ensuring that supporting documents are kept in a couple of places…who knows, perhaps working photocopy machines were in short supply in Attawapiskat too?
Sixth Estate
I don’t know the answers to those questions, but the review you’re looking at was specifically investigating the federal government’s housing grant and contribution program. In exchange for receiving a contribution under that program, First Nations were expected to keep a certain set of records, proof of expenditures, etc., and the audit is saying that Attawapiskat’s records are incomplete or were not shared with the auditors.
The First Nation would have some sort of annual budget of its own, which is separate and the consolidated statements of which would get audited annually. Those statements have apparently been cleared by other auditors. Again, so far as I can tell, these are two totally separate issues.
me-me-me-its-all-about-me
Accounting firms used to have a high reputation. That disappeared for me when Mike Harris asked one to produce a report on the effects of amalgamating the local levels of government in Toronto into one big government. He then laid down the “frame of reference” which strongly steered the report to the outcome he wanted, including a couple of “assumptions” that were simply wrong.
No surprise. The accounting firm was quite happy to pocket the money.
Is this about “misspending” the money?
Or is it about sloppy paperwork?
Or is it “payback” time for someone the government finds annoying?
I think there is more than enough stuff that needs to be fixed at Attawapiskat and other places too. And I don’t think it is “all the white man’s fault”.
But certainly, leaking this report at this time really does not suggest to me that the government has much interest in trying to deal with these problems constructively.
Justified
haha…you people absolutely kill me! What a crock of shit!
You bet your leftwing asses this was a timely, premeditated leak. And the timing couldn’t have been better. This woman is a crook and should go to jail. Unbelievable! And you folks still try to ignore this insanely huge problem by hiding behind the fact that this story was intentially leaked to discredit Mother Theresa??? This is real journalism my sorry people. This is real accountability. Of all the people that I can think of that deserve to be discredited…Theresa and her thugs are at the top of the list.
Don’t ignore the obvious. Read the D&T report. And who’s the dumbass who suggested that this report has been going on since 2005 and the government decided to leak it just now. Retard. The government commissioned this report earlier this summer when Mother Theresa kicked out the manager that the government sent in to try and resolve the humanitarian crisis. D&T began their audit earlier this summer, but went back to records dating 2005. They didn’t begin their audit in 2005.
You people disgust me. Now that you’ve had your little reality check, stick your sorry leftwing heads back in the sand. Shame on all of you.
Justified
I read your stupid comments and almost everyone of you seem to have a problem at the timing of this leak. What the hell???
Theresa and her criminal collegues are in the midst of trying to discredit the federal government, implying that we (the white man) are virtually engaging in some sort of purposeful genocide against her band. That is such bullshit. The timing of this report could not be better, and yes, you can bet your ass that the timing is no mistake. The Canadian taxpayer deserves to be protected from this nonesense. We have been frauded out of millions of dollars, and then she has the audacity to wave her finger at us as though we are not meeting treaty obligations.
She and her thugs are sucking the life out of their own people, and all you silly folks can think about is how malicous the federal government is for trying to discredit your Mother Theresa. I’m sorry, but the bitch seeriously belongs in jail.
And then you guys try to focus on how bad the accounting firms are. If you don’t want accountability and fairness, go live in the Congo or some other dumb ass country.
Stephen Ferris
You have to admire the Harperites. They successfully changed the channel from Chief Spence’s hunger strike to a dubious accounting issue and the media dutifully followed while the Conservatives slink away with a smirk on their faces. Remarkable and so discouraging.
Sixth Estate
I’m impressed, Justified. You managed to read all the comments, and all of my article, and yet somehow you managed to miss the second paragraph. Here, I’ll even reproduce it for you:
Now, first of all, it’s not good to see any elected leader apparently responsible for very serious fiscal mismanagement. Assuming the audit report is genuine, this would appear to be evidence that the Attawapiskat government is guilty on that just charge. Sixth Estate’s position on such matters is well known: elected leaders who abuse the public trust should be turfed, unceremoniously and expeditiously.
However, unless you are an Attawapiskat Cree, and I am not, then the elected government of that First Nation isn’t really accountable to you anyways, so it’s kind of a moot point. In this instance, Spence will need to answer to her own people for the actions of her government.
Sixth Estate
Second of all, unless you’re prepared to direct the same language against certain ruling Cabinet ministers, then my charge of hypocrisy stands as well.
Here’s your opportunity to do that.
Sixth Estate
me-me-me — Accounting firms are about statistics. You know what they say about statistics.
More to the point, though, I would blame the politicians, not the accounting firms. Their job, in the case you cite, was to produce a report according to the terms of reference. And apparently, from what you say, they did exactly that.
Gayleen
This type of FINANCIAL situation PLAGUES every 1st Nation Bands across Canada….I worked in Band Administration in housing for our people but it was way to ABUSIVE by the way the GOV’t wants us to spend tax-payers dollars with VERY stupid stipulations, such as having these houses build to National Building CODE, with not enough money to get the JOB done properly & they NEVER send an inspector back to see the work of the bands or even if the job got done, and almost all of these homes are either condemned and beyond being fixed to anytype of code. Each and every band can prove that they been undercut and have large deficits in there housing programs. All INDIAN BANDS are under funded and will never have enough money to do what the Gov’t wanted us do ….SO only half a$$ jobs get done if any because your usually paying back last years deficit because you didn’t have enough MONEY to do the last contract, and they will NEVER send in a GOV’T inspector to see if the TAX-PAYER dollars were spent accordingly, and they just con’t to have ABUSIVE Financial statement that WELL-PAID AUDITORS & INSURANCE companies get on our behalf to make us 1st Nation look BAD & that we can’t take care of ourselves & thats BS…And God Fore-bid if we every CHALLENGE the Gov’t System of abuse and the right to a healthy living, the Gov’t sends in its regime of Gov’t officials and tells the world how we mis-manage gov’t funding and trys to BLAME us POOR INDIANS for trying to make the best out of Gov’t funding… And for the rest of the Canandian Citizins if it wasn’t for us living on the land we would have been died long time ago…its OUR free flowing Rivers & Streams & Creeks & Pristine Lands that keep ALL 1ST NATION ALIVE AND WELL….so I stand TALL & PROUD TO BE A HUGE SUPPORT OF **IDLE-NO-MORE**& Chief Spence…All My Relantions
Rab
Hey! You’re getting some Trolls!!
Good sign, and I assume it means folks are starting to visit the site.
Keep up the great work. Best Canadian political site I’ve stumbled across in a long time.
G.J.W.
This government is nothing other than the Mafia. They extort, lie, deceive, are corrupt. They use dirty tactics, dirty politics and, they cheat to win. Anyone opposing governments, soon lose their jobs.
In BC, AG Doyle can’t do his books because, the BC Liberals refuse to give him the information, so he can to do so. The BC Liberals are trying to oust Doyle. I believe the AG, had the same problem with Harper. He too keeps his books firmly closed.
Harper’s omnibull bill, gives himself the right to, pollute waterways, fish and destroy F.N. hunting grounds. All across Canada, F.N. have to constantly fight, to preserve their food sources. But, that’s Harper’s mind set. He said, I am the law. I make the rules. This was Harper’s agenda. http://www.cpcml.ca Harper doesn’t even have the decency, to consult with F.N. Harper dictates.
I agree with Gayleen. Harper isn’t trampling the F.N. rights, he is stomping on them. F.N. education programs are so poor, their kids can’t go on to a higher education. Those kids have to compete, in a high tech job market. They have to be able to, go on to University, College and Trade Schools. It’s kind of stupid to say? The F.N. must be more self sufficient, without the tools to do so.
The F.N. people are Canadians too. They sent their sons to war, right alongside my own brothers. Canada didn’t have the decency, to recognize the F.N. for their war service either. The F.N. are the true Canadians, the rest of us are the intruders.
Sixth Estate
Doyle is already ousted, actually (well, he will be when the term is up anyways, it’s been decided). The federal A-G won’t be fired, but it seems unlikely that there will be a Parliamentary Budget Officer in six month’s time.
Lawrence A, Oshanek
Chief Spence and her reserve are nothing but a surreal carnival side show to the real issues involved …. the proposed changes to law which will allow international and Bay Street banks, multinational investment and exploitation corporations and foreign governments to better rape and loot all of Canada.
The changes to our laws concerning water are of the up-most importance to every Canadian in every corner of this country and all Canadians need to be educated as to why our water should never be for sale!
The movement was started by 4 women in Saskatoon with a clear idea of why they were doing what they were doing and what needed to be changed. They then got off their asses and spontaneously grew it from there. The movement was NEVER intended to be about the conditions on only ONE reserve.
The minute the immature elected politician, Chief Spence, all on her very own, unilaterally decided she wanted to become the public face of Idle No More, with no clear anti-legislative message for the public and without issuing of any consistent written demands for specific changes to the proposed laws (all done with no consultation with the people who started the movement) she doomed the process.
Fact is, she pulled a Ralph Klien. She saw a parade and ran to the front of it so she could be seen as the leader of it. She is all about her ambitions and not the ambitions of others as is evidenced by:
Did Spence invite and introduce the movements founding women to Ottawa and the press so they could articulate why they felt the movement was necessary? Did she invite other native Chief’s with similar objections to the legislation to join her in Ottawa so they too could be heard and listened to?
No, her protest was all about her and her own political game and gain as is evidenced by her parade of meeting and greeting of wholly partisan political figures who have absolutely no power what-so-ever to change one fricking word in the Tories legislative agenda.
Did she invite one Conservative MP to come and talk to her …. no, Trudeau was a better photo op! She even rejected several times meeting with the Minister responsible because he was not good enough for her but every member of the NDP and Liberal caucus was.
Wise, Spence is not.
Lauralee
given that DIAND continued to be satisfied with the paperwork they were getting, and continued to send them $$ …. the bulk of the criticism, if there is any need for it all, belongs on them, not on anyone in Attawapiskat.
The whole thing is ridiculous – Spence made them look bad and they’re paying her back in kind. Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of ignorant people all to quick to jump on this particular bandwagon and happy to have “evidence” to support their existing biases.
jrkrideau
I have not had a chance to read the entire audit report but going from what I have had a chance to read and the above comments in the blog it does not look like anything unusual and the fact that there is no real caveats in the annual audits looks good.
All of the problems I have seen so far are fairly common, I believe, in First Nations reservations. This a also true in a lot of non-First Nations organizations with CMHC funding. I don’t know about the other departments/agencies. Problems such as inadequate reserves are so common in native and non-native housing organizations that it is probably more of a suprise to find one that has adequate reserves.
And, IIRC, Attawapiskat has been flooded out a couple of times in the last few years—it’s a miracle they have any records at all. I think the old saying, “when you’re up to your ass in alligators, it is hard to remember that your original intention is to drain the swamp” is likely to apply to band council and administrators.
It does not indicate any intentional malfeasance, just that a community like Attawapisakat First Nation usually has a very limited administration often without a lot of financial and reporting expertise. I suspect AFN does not have a CA or CGA on staff and at a guess the closest
This is combined with government departments that are understaffed so that they often cannot supply the support that client groups need to meet general reporting standards or even meet general standards say of building and inspection.
So the audit is confirming what everyone in the various gov’t agencies already knew: Record keeping and accountability are way below what accepted financial practices would demand. I’m not saying that the audit should not have been done, just that the findings are just as one would expect.
No smoking gun, no malfeasance, just a report that is being used in a smear job by an opportunist Harper Government.
Jen
Just because one government is not being transparent with it’s expenditures, doesn’t make it right for another government to do the same. Regardless of who was in charge, there appears to have been financial mismanagement by this Band in the best case scenario, and worse scenarios come to mind.
Sixth Estate
Just because one government is not being transparent with it’s expenditures, doesn’t make it right for another government to do the same.
And I never said otherwise.
Merrill Smith
I was going to answer your question by asking if it had to be one or the other, but then I remembered Peter Penashue, so it must be because she’s not a Conservative cabinet minister.
Sixth Estate
That’s a reasonable answer.
The Sixth Estate » If Theresa Spence was a White Politician, She Could Have Just Fired the Auditor
[...] explanation is necessary, I feel, for my post of a couple of days ago, noting the media was displaying a striking degree of hypocrisy with respect to the apparently [...]