Audit underway at Big Island Lake Cree Nation

A team of auditors from Deloitte and Touche is examining claims made against the chief and council of the Big Island Lake Cree Nation that they used government money meant for social assistance to buy themselves vehicles, horses and trailers. No charges have been laid and none of the allegations has been proven in court. The audit work is ongoing, covering the period April 2009 to March 2012. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada received an anonymous, handwritten letter in April 2011 about the alleged misuse of federal funding. A second handwritten letter, sent in December 2011, makes more allegations specifically against the chief and councillors. Deloitte and Touche is expected to present its findings to the department in early 2014. However, department officials say those findings may not be made public “depend(ing) on privacy considerations.”