Stoney to get investigation and audit

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The Stoney Tribal Council, Indian Affairs and a third party accounting firm will be holding their own investigation and conducting a forensic audit into allegations surrounding the Stoney reserve near Morley.

Provincial court Judge John Reilly ordered the provincial crown prosecutor to investigate the band's operations two months ago during a spousal assault trial at the Cochrane court house. Reilly said he wanted to see if reduced social programming and low rates of employment and income were creating serious problems like the ones he was seeing in court.

The order has lead to accusations of financial mismanagement, poor leadership and dismal social programs on the reserve.

The judge's order itself is also in question. A hearing was held in Calgary earlier in Sept. to examine if the it holds any weight. That hearing was postponed until Sept. 26.

Continued tension on the reserve has lead the tribal council to suggest their own investigation.

The three chiefs and 12 councilors of the Wesley, Chiniki and Bearspaw nations of the Stoney Tribal Council are intent on getting to the bottom of concerns arising in their communities, said tribal spokesman Rick Butler.

The tribal task force and Indian Affairs has already started to tackle the band's biggest financial hurdle.

Indian Affairs has recently appointed a private company to handle the day-to-day financial operations of the reserve and help to eliminate the band's six million dollar budget.

Butler said the budget cutting process is vital to the Stoneys.

"We've got a budget balancing effort . . . and it's a work in progress. With the six million dollar deficit by the end of the year we hope to have it down to zero," he said.

Butler admitted that balancing the budget while trying to keep the social service programs up to par is going to be difficult.

By the same token, Butler said the people can't rely solely on the programs to help them.

"The programs don't fix it all. It's up to the people to help themselves,' he said.

Butler said to the outside world, it seems that the Stoneys have a lot of problems, but things aren't that bad. There are problems, he admitted, but they can be worked out.

"A lot of people have the perception that it's a powder-keg blowing up everywhere and that's just not it. It's business as usual."

Butler described the atmosphere as a "healthy tension," and there's always going to be that."

The forensic audit and the task force should make sure the tensions don't get out of hand, he said.

Greg Twoyoungman, a member of the reserve, said he won't be happy until the answers are found in the audit.

He said things are bad on the reserve and it's not going to get any better.

"I've experienced it and I'm experiencing it right now," he said.

The recent deaths of several young band members stems back to the way the First Nation is run, he said.

"All of the people, the youth and adults feel a sense of helplessness and hopelessness," he said.

Twoyoungman, who worked for the previous band and council at Stoney, said he doesn't have much faith in this council's assurances of an audit and investigation.

"They don't want the audit, but the people do. The grassroots people want it."

Back at the administration office, Butler said the chiefs and councilors want to get on with running the band and away from all the speculations.

"The chief and council are saying they want to get to the real issues," Butler said. "There have been a lot of things said and it would be nice to get this behind them."

Indian Affairs reports that an accounting firm has been selected for the audit and it will begin immediately. Financial records from 1994 to the present will be examined in the audit. Public consultation and input was specifically noted in the terms of reference for the audit.

Time lines for the task force were not given by Indian Affairs, but the terms of reference for the investigating unit are currently being developed.

The task force, reported Indian Affairs, will be made up o representatives from federal departments, the Stoney Band and other levels of government.

The administration of social services will be the first area to be addressed by the task force.