Cummings pleads guilty to defrauding MACSI

Henry Joseph Cummings, 70, pleaded guilty to defrauding the taxpayer-funded Métis Addictions Council of Saskatchewan, Inc. Cummings received a one-year conditional sentence with an order that he repay the amount of the fraud — about $8,200 — to the organization.  MACSI receives the majority of its operating dollars from the provincial Ministry of Health. Cummings was appointed to MACSI’s board of directors in June 2001. At the time, he was also an area director for the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan. Also charged with defrauding MACSI is Albert Joseph Delaire, who was chair of the board and also held the position of minister of health for the MNS. Charges against Delaire are more extensive and relate to much larger sum of money. He has pleaded not guilty. MACSI operates facilities in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert, and provides in-patient and outpatient treatment programs for drug and alcohol addiction.