SASKATOON — Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand is again asking Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron for answers about his concerns on how the organization handles its finances, as Indigenous Services Canada is conducting an audit. Arcand sits on the FSIN Treasury Board and the Finance and Audit Committee.
“He's [Cameron] well aware. I brought this up at the Assembly in North Battleford and let people know this is a concern. So, people know about it. Like I said, I think people want to keep it as a hush, but I won't keep it as a hush. I think people need to know that this is people's money, and we've got to be transparent and accountable for it,” said Arcand
Arcand said he has just been doing his job as a representative of the STC on the FSIN Treasury Board, also headed by Cameron, in the last 10 months, which is why he has raised the issue of finances several times. He has not gotten any answers, so he called a press conference at the STC office on Tuesday, Oct. 29, to get the word out.
“If we don't get [answers] to questions, this is the only avenue we have to let the people of Canada know what's going on. Saying: how they [FSIN] can't be truthful and honest with what's going on,” said Arcand.
ISG, in an email to SaskToday, said the FSIN audit is still ongoing, and they are not in a position yet to share any information.
He clarified that what he had done was not an attack since Cameron is seeking a fourth term as head of the FSIN against challenger outgoing Third Vice Chief Aly Bear from the Whitecap Dakota First Nation on elections set for Friday, Oct. 31. FSIN’s 74 member nations will also choose the first and third vice chiefs.
“This is being fully transparent. I hoped I could have brought it out earlier, but I needed the facts to do that. To get the facts, I had to be transparent with everything. None of this stuff is fabricated. None of this stuff is made up. This is all facts based on the document that we have that everybody should have,” said Arcand.
He obtained an FSIN internal audit report from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 using access to information law, where he found some details of the organization’s finances, like incurring $6 million in debt between April 2022 and March 2023 and paying $11.4M in consultants’ fees in one fiscal year.
The FSIN, according to the report, also carried $14M in deferred revenue in 2023, money that was not spent from previous years and could have been used to help member First Nations. The FSIN has also paid $3.6M in non-staff travel expenses and $2.7M in per diem payments.
Arcand hopes everyone should encourage the FSIN to be fully transparent and accountable, and if mistakes are ever made, own and learn from them as an organization to improve.
“This [FSIN] is supposed to be our mother organization. This was rooted in the Treaty's inherent rights. So, I hope Chief Cameron, whatever the outcome is on Thursday, actually be accountable and transparent. Just say, ‘Let's deal with what we've got to deal with and make sure that we improve the organization to help people,” said Arcand, who added he was surprised to learn of the federal government’s audit.
“Because I sit in finance. So, when you're not given this information, you have a fiduciary responsibility to hold yourself to a standard that says you've got to make the best decisions for the organization. If you remember, back when this first organization started, they had no money to go out there and do the work they did for our people. We're not being transparent because we get dollars from Canada to do programs or advocacy for treaty inherent rights.”
“Second, they shouldn't be doing programs and services. That's the tribal council's [job]. That's the First Nations. Their job is strictly Treaty inherent rights. So, why are they getting money for programs and services? That's another problem. We have to change the governance structure here. We have to change the accountability structure.”
Arcand said he will not stop asking questions about the FSIN’s finances, regardless of the election outcome.
“We have to change the transparency. Just because this is two days before the election doesn't mean I will stop being transparent with the general public regarding what's happening. Many grassroots people don't know this, and they need to know this. It's about full transparency because this is Canada's money. It's First Nations money, and if we're not being transparent about it, we've got to hold people accountable,” said Arcand.
