Scathing audit damages Attawapiskat chief’s credibility
Posted Jan 8, 2013 6:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s been four weeks since the chief of a northern Ontario reserve launched a hunger strike, but according to one columnist with Maclean’s, Chief Theresa Spence has lost credibility.
An independent audit shows the Attawapiskat council had little or no documentation for its spending of more than $100-million in federal funding.
The cash, which was spread out over nearly seven years, was meant for things like housing and education; the very issues Spence is battling the federal government over.
The lack of basic accounting and management at the reserve mean the band council may have to take some responsibility for the crisis it is dealing with.
John Geddes with the magazine says it takes the wind out of the sails for chief Spence’s campaign.
“So now we’ve got a situation where I think people that were looking to her as a figurehead, need to edge away from her, and I think you’ll probably see that happen in the coming days,” he says.
It may not help that Spence’s reps are blocking the media from asking her about the spending.
Geddes says the Idle No More campaign itself can live on, if it separates from Chief Spence’s demonstration, and focuses on the broader issues of aboriginal and treaty rights.
Chief Spence will be part of a First Nations delegation that will meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday.
