‘We expect answers’: Sask. First Nation Chief demands transparency from FSIN

The leader of a Sask. First Nation is calling for accountability after an audit of the FSIN uncovered $34 million in oddities. Keenan Sorokan reports.

The leader of a Saskatchewan First Nation is demanding answers from Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) leadership as a preliminary audit from the federal government questions millions of dollars in spending.

Chief Kelly Wolfe of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation says it’s time for FSIN leaders to speak up and be accountable and transparent after a leaked photo of a forensic audit ordered by Indigenous Services Canada found $34.3 million in ineligible, questionable and un-supported expenses.

“We expect answers, and we are demanding answers,” Wolfe said.

“We want to hear from the executive. They represent over 70 nations, over 150,000 citizens here, and we still haven’t heard from them. So that becomes very frustrating.”

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Wolfe said the yet-to-be-finalized findings revealed to FSIN leadership last week by KPMG, who performed the audit, were not surprising.

Wolfe, along with other members of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC,) have been speculating about mis-spending for quite some time. Last fall, STC Chief Mark Arcand told reporters he had to use freedom of information laws to access an internal audit, which revealed the FSIN was $6 million in debt from April 2022 to March 2023.

A slide of last week’s presentation has been shared online, showing $47.1 million in transactions reviewed, which flagged $34.3 million. The expenses separated $3.7 million as “ineligible,” $30.4 million as “questionable” and $156,000 as “un-supported.”

Indigenous Services initially announced a forensic audit last March related to four separate funding agreements, dating back to April 1, 2019.

The largest single item is more than $23.5 million in COVID-19 funding. Another item questions nearly $8 million in administration fees.

Other spending under scrutiny is nearly $1 million for the FSIN’s new office building near the airport, nearly $400,000 in questionable fleet vehicle spending, and more than $260,000 in corporate travel expenses.

“We want to see accountability, we want to see transparency,” Wolfe said.

“Has there ever been a financial scandal like this in Canada’s history, or Indigenous governance history?”

Wolfe said if the summary of the audit, which is to be released by Sept. 30, reflects what’s already been revealed, he expects FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron to resign.

“We need to make an example of this to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

The FSIN did not respond to a request for a comment from CTV News, and refused to allow any questions about the audit at a news conference for a separate matter on Monday.