First Nation responds to government's $90,000 a day "accounting" firms' smear campaign
The true scandal of First Nations' funding -- not the Deloitte and Touche version!
By Karl Nerenberg | January 9, 2013
It's sad to report, but the strategic leak of the Deloitte & Touche audit of Theresa Spence's Attawapiskat band seems to have had its desired impact.
The leak has tarnished the reputation of a woman who has only been Chief since 2010 -- the audit goes back to 2005 -- and it has significantly distracted national attention from the fundamental issues at stake.
For example, a friend of mine -- who, admittedly, has a busy life and may not follow these matters as closely as some -- asked if the dressing down Deloitte and Touche gave Spence means the Attawapiskat Chief Spence might actually be going to jail. Was she, perhaps, trying to commit suicide, this friend asked, to avoid a life behind bars?
It might sound like an oddly naïve question -- but you have to remember that most Canadians are preoccupied with their own very full lives. Chief Spence's fast and all the issues associated with it are only flickering media images on the outskirts of their awareness. And so, if you tell them a lurid story of what seems like improper handling of millions of (taxpayers) dollars, with no context and no background, they'll naturally be impressed.
And, by the way, of the 409 transactions in Attawapiskat that Deloitte and Touche said lacked proper documentation, only about 30 were conducted on Spence's watch -- pretty small beer for the current band Chief, and nothing approaching any sort of scandal, let alone crime!
Sheila Fraser found a true scandal
But that's not the real point. The real point is the way in which the system for providing First Nations services is fundamentally flawed.
When she was Auditor General, Sheila Fraser repeatedly warned that the management and funding system the Government imposes on First Nations would almost inevitably lead to problems of the sort Deloitte and Touche identified in Attawapiskat.
Fraser's most recent damning report on the entire system came out in June of 2011.
It got some scattered media attention at the time, but was generally treated as "same old, same old" -- not as the unmitigated scandal Fraser evidently thought it was.
In the fall of 2011, when Aboriginal Affairs officials went before the Commons Public Accounts Committee to answer to Fraser's charges, no media -- except for rabble.ca -- thought that worthy of any coverage.
A leaked auditor's letter to Chief Spence -- dated last August and lacking any specific detail -- gets breathless "CBC has obtained a copy" coverage.
A departmental response to a thoroughgoing critique of First Nations funding and services throughout Canada gets zero coverage.
Sadly, it seems the best way to get the mainstream media's attention is to make them believe you've given them some kind of "scoop." It sure worked for this week's leaker.
The fact is, however, that the only way to make sense of the Attawapiskat audit is to read it in the context of what Fraser says about the whole system.
So, for those who missed it the first time, here are some of the former Auditor General's key points.
What's wrong with 'contribution agreements?'
First, Sheila Fraser explains that the federal government uses those strange beasts called "contribution agreements" to fund the delivery of services on First Nations reserves, and then she bluntly states:
"We see several problems with the use of this funding mechanism for the provision of core government services."
The first problem is the lack of targets or expected outcomes, a basic feature of sound administration.
"While the agreements state the services or actions to be provided, they do not always focus on service standards or results to be achieved.
Then, there is the issue of gaps in funding, gaps which force First Nations to scramble and improvise.
"Most contribution agreements must be renewed yearly ... we have found that the funds may not be available until several months into the period to be funded ... Consequently, First Nations must often reallocate funds from elsewhere to continue meeting community service requirements."
As well, Fraser notes that the agreements do not define who is responsible for what:
"The use of contribution agreements between the federal government and First Nations may also inhibit appropriate accountability to First Nations members. It is often unclear who is accountable to First Nations members for achieving improved outcomes or specific levels of services..."
'A significant reporting burden for small First Nations'
And then Fraser gets to the nub of the problem that Deloitte describes (but fails to explain).
That is the issue of the onerous and inappropriate level of paperwork, record-keeping and reporting imposed on First Nations -- an issue Fraser had raised on many occasions with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, to no avail:
"Contribution agreements involve a significant reporting burden, especially for small First Nations with limited administrative capacity. Communities often have to use scarce administrative resources to respond to numerous reporting requirements stipulated in their agreements. We followed up on Aboriginal Affairs efforts to reduce the reporting requirements of First Nations and found progress to date to be unsatisfactory..."
'Long-term planning difficult'
Fraser also underscores the constant financial insecurity to which the federally mandated system subjects First Nations:
"The use of contribution agreements to fund services for First Nations communities has also led to uncertainty about funding levels. Statutory programs such as land claim agreements must be fully funded, but this is not the case for services provided through contribution agreements. Accordingly, it is not certain whether funding levels provided to First Nations in one year will be available the following year. This situation creates a level of uncertainty for First Nations and makes long-term planning difficult..."
'Lack of expertise for delivering key programs'
Finally, the former Auditor General points out the challenges that small and relatively poor First Nations communities face in providing complex services that, elsewhere in Canada, are provided by larger, well-resourced entities such as school boards:
"The federal government established each First Nation band as an autonomous entity and provides separate program funding to each. Many of these First Nations are small, consisting of communities that often have fewer than 500 residents. There are more than 600 First Nations across Canada. Many of them are hampered by the lack of expertise to meet the administrative requirements for delivering key programs within their reserves. They often do not have the benefit of school boards, health boards, or other regional bodies to support the First Nations as they provide services to community members."
Tip of the iceberg
And that is just a small part of the Auditor General's withering critique of abject federal government failure in the provision of basic services to First Nations.
It is a critique that Sheila Fraser repeated frequently throughout her tenure.
In her final report, on her way out in June 2011, Fraser came as close as a public servant can to throwing up her hands in despair and frustration.
She had to conclude that the federal government had failed, over a period of many years, to adequately deal with the vast majority of her recommendations.
Now, if there's a scandal worthy of national media attention it is in what Canada's Auditor General found, systemically and throughout the country; not in what Deloitte and Touche uncovered in one Northern Ontario community.
Anyone have a brown envelope?
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From Occupy Canada
Want the the real facts about the Attawapiskat audit?
This Newly released Audit Leak to CBC News on Attawapiskat 4 days
before a meeting with Stephen Harper and First Nation leaders is a smear
campaign, the consultant firm Deloitte Inc who is behind the audit was
hired by the Harper government and awarded a $19.8 million dollar
contract where consultants were paid $90,000 a day for advice..the audit was bought and paid for.
"The accounting firm Deloitte was engaged to perform the audit.. CBC
News obtained a copy of the audit before it was made public."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/01/07/pol-attawapiskat-audit-monday.html
"The Harper government payed a management consultant firm Deloitte Inc
almost $90,000 a day for advice on how to save money. Deloitte Inc. was
hired on Aug. 15 on a $19.8-million contract to advise the federal
cabinet and senior officials on finding enough savings to balance the
books by 2014."
source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/government-hires-90-000-a-day-cuts-consultant-firm-1.700095#ixzz2HONrokB1
Deloitte-Wikipedia
"Standard Chartered Iranian Money Laundering - In August 2012, Deloitte
was forced to publicly deny that as the official internal auditors for
Standard Chartered, it helped the bank cover up suspected money
laundering operations which were earning the bank significant profits by
"intentionally omiting critical information"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deloitte#Criticisms
Appointing third-party manager to Attawapiskat 'unreasonable': rules federal court
It was "unreasonable in all circumstances" for the harper government to
appoint a third-party manager in response to an unfolding humanitarian
crisis in the troubled First Nations community of Attawapiskat, the
Federal Court ruled"
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/08/01/duncan-unreasonable-in-sending-third-party-manager-to-attiwapiskat-federal-court/
Chief Theresa Spence's release called the leaked audit "no more than a
distraction of the true issue ... to discredit Chief Spence who is
willing to lay down her life for a larger cause. Her spokesman, Danny
Metatawabin, had earlier accused the Harper Conservatives of "trying to
undermine the process here, the movement of the people." http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Attawapiskat+audit+reveals+shoddy+band+oversight+neglect/7785059/story.html#ixzz2HOMSgjRh
The real math behind Attawapiskat's $90 million
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/12/04/brett-hodnett-the-real-math-behind-attawapiskats-90-million/
Attawapiskat: You Want to Be Shown the Money? Here it Is. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/chelsea-vowel/attawapiskat-emergency_b_1127066.html
"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people
who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the
oppressing." - Malcolm X
Shared by Derek @ Occupy Canada
++++++++
Attawapiskat Chief Spence's 'life partner' challenges department to launch forensic audit, says band has nothing to hide
By Jorge Barrera - 08. Jan, 2013
NOTE: In sidebar at end of story Clayton Kennedy discusses donation bank account for Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike
Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's "life partner" says the federal Aboriginal Affairs department should finally launch the forensic audit requested by the community in 2004 if it's serious about tracking the millions of dollars that have flowed through the band's coffers.
Aboriginal Affairs on Monday released an audit done by Deloitte and Touche that found a missing paper trail for millions of dollars in funding flowing through Attawapiskat First Nation between 2005 and 2011. Attawapiskat has a population of about 1,828.
The audit, which examined funding from Aboriginal Affairs and Health Canada along with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, detonated like a grenade as First Nations leaders prepared for Friday's scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The audit, targeting the $104 million the northern Ontario community on the Attawapiskat River received between 2005 and 2011, examined 505 financial transactions, 400 from Aboriginal affairs and 105 from Health Canada, and found that 81 per cent of those transactions did not have the proper documentation and 61 per cent had none.
"We were unable to determine if the funds were spent for their intended purpose," said a Deloitte and Touche management letter to Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence, dated Aug. 28.
The auditors also noted that CMHC never bothered to tell Aboriginal Affairs about its own inspectors' findings that housing conditions were worsening in the community.
Spence's partner, Clayton Kennedy, who is also the band's former co-manager, said financial accountability had improved over the last two years in Attawapiskat, which posts all its financial documents online. He said none of the money was ever misappropriated and every dollar could be tracked by simply approaching the vendors and the banks involved. He said the department should call in the forensic audit requested by the community back in 2004.
"If everyone is so concerned about the lack of documentation, then fine, come back, start contacting the suppliers, go through the banks, get into it in a little more detail because I don't think you'll find any misappropriation of funds," said Kennedy, who was the band's co-manager between July 2010 and August 2012.
Kennedy was also the band's director of finance, band manager and co-manager between 2001 and 2004 and left the community until he was hired again.
Spence, who was deputy chief from 2007 to 2010, has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11, consuming fish broth two or three times a day along with water and traditional medicine teas, to force a meeting between the prime minister, the governor general and First Nations leaders.
With the meeting now scheduled for Friday, Spence says she will continue to abstain from consuming solid foods until she is satisfied with its result.
Spence has developed a type of sainthood among many who travel from all over the country just to see her, give her gifts and pray for her.
She also has developed a fiercely loyal group of supporters and they barred media Monday from entering the log-fence compound on Victoria Island on the Ottawa River where Spence has been living in a teepee.
Attawapiskat's deputy chief George Mattinas told APTN National News all media were now banned from entering the community.
Spence has lost about 22 lbs since she began her hunger strike and a nurse who checked her on Monday noticed her blood-sugar level was dropping, said Kennedy. Kennedy also said Spence has been suffering pain from her stomach contracting from lack of food. He said she is not consuming any vitamins or supplements.
"She is extremely weak," said Kennedy. "I am concerned."
Kennedy said he's worried Spence continues to refuse solid food.
"I don't like where all this is heading in terms of her continuing," he said. "I think she's probably done enough...but it's her decision to do this."
Kennedy said he believes the government released the "comprehensive audit" to politically torpedo Spence and weaken the Idle No More movement, which shows no signs of abating through continued round dances, rallies and highway blockades across the country.
"It's a witch-hunt," he said. "This whole report that is being exposed as nothing more than a deflection to take pressure off the government because they are in the midst of protest by Indigenous people across this country and people around the world...they just needed to put something out to discredit the movement and discredit the chief, it's all part of politics."
Kennedy said the audit proves things improved after Spence became chief on Aug. 27, 2010.
"Prior to Theresa coming on as chief, there were problems," said Kennedy. "Hence that is why I was brought in by council, with the full knowledge of Aboriginal Affairs, to get things turned around and for the most part I did get them turned around."
The audit's examination of 400 Aboriginal Affairs transactions supports his assertion. Between 2009 and 2011, the audit found 31 transactions lacked supporting documentation. Between 2005 and 2009, the audit found 214 transactions lacked all supporting documentation.
"There was a lack of oversight, there was a lack of controls," said Kennedy. "It was all relatively young finance staff."
Kennedy cites as an example of several entries in the Deloitte audit on "write down of accounts payable" that were found to have incomplete documentation. Kennedy said those were entries he was trying to correct after staff duplicated invoices for capital projects which are handled by external accountants and project managers.
"I had to take them off the books of account," he said.
Kennedy said Attawapiskat, which has been in co-management for 10 years, was on the brink of bankruptcy when he took over.
Kennedy said the band was previously co-managed by BDO Canada from November 2009 to April 2010, but the band council decided to not continue with them after the firm asked for $400,000 a year over five years to do the job. Kennedy said he earned about $140,000 by comparison.
"Council was suspicious of the fact they hadn't done anything in six months in terms of producing financial statements," said Kennedy.
David Facca, a BDO partner in Thunder Bay, was involved, but said he wasn't authorized to comment when contacted by APTN National News.
Before BDO, the band was co-managed by George Lanouette, who has since died.
The band manager through the majority of the audit period, former chief Ignace Gull, was let go from his position in December 2011, said Kennedy.
Gull could not be reached for comment.
Kennedy said he's not surprised the auditors failed to find documentation for transactions dating back to 2005.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan called for the audit in December 2011 at the same time he imposed a third-party manager on the community, seizing financial control away from the band council and administration.
When the auditors landed in the community for two five day stints in early 2012, the band's staff was already working to the limit dealing with the third-party manager, who was from BDO Canada's Winnipeg office.
"My staff didn't have time to get to the nuts and bolts," he said. "We were worried about payroll and welfare payments that were withheld. I had to provide a raft of information...(The third party manager) wanted to take over all the payroll, he wanted all the information, personal information for every employee by program."
Kennedy said most of the band's accounting staff had "no knowledge of the majority of transactions." He said they pulled out boxes of files from a warehouse to meet the auditors' demands.
"My staff was preoccupied with operations and did not have a lot of time to devote to the auditor's queries," he said.
Duncan's spokesman Jan O'Driscoll said the audit "speaks for itself" and the minister's office accepts "its conclusions and recommendations."
SIDEBAR
Kennedy says all donations accounted for
Clatyon Kennedy, Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's life partner, said he wants to allay concerns raised in the media about a savings account he set up to for donations to support Spence's hunger strike.
So far, the account has received about $31,000 in donations and spent about $20,400 on expenses like hotels for support staff at the site and Spence's family along with food, stoves, gasoline and the rental of a car, he said.
Kennedy said he has kept all the receipts and will be providing a detailed breakdown of the spending to the major donors.
"I have the spreadsheets, I have the documentation, if anyone is worried," he said.
+++++++
Court refutes Harper government: Attawapiskat was not financially mismanaged
By Âpihtawikosisân | August 3, 2012
On August 1, the Federal Court released its judicial review of the appointment of a Third Party Manager in Attawapiskat.
For those not familiar with the different kinds of cases that come
before the various courts in Canada, a judicial review is precisely that
-- a court is asked to review the legality of an action or decision
made by legislative and executive branches. In essence, anyone should
be able to ask, "Was the government right to do this?" and receive an
answer from the courts. In this case, the court's answer was, "No."
How the issue was framed in public and what the court had to say
When Charlie Angus first blogged about Attawapiskat, the initial public reaction was horror that such conditions could exist in Canada.
That reaction quickly became swallowed up by a flood of accusations about Band mismanagement and culpability. Whether you wanted to or not, discussing Attawapiskat in public meant addressing those accusations.
There are a lot of ugly national myths about First Nations based on things like misunderstanding the scope of First Nations taxation, and Treaties, as well as a lack of understanding that colonialism is not a merely historical issue.
Spoiler alert: this Federal Court decision does not magically clear away all the confusion. However, it draws our attention to the way in which misunderstandings led to and exacerbated the crisis in Attawapiskat; misunderstandings not just in the public discourse but also in the minds of those making decisions as to how to respond to the Attawapiskat's needs.
At paragraph 77 of the decision, the Court says:
"The reasonableness of the choice of remedies [i.e. appointing a Third Party Manager] is conditioned by a reasonable and accurate appreciation of the facts and a consideration of the the reasonable alternatives available."
p. 78 "...the [Assistant Deputy Minister] misunderstood the nature of the problem...what was really an operational problem. While the [Attawapiskat First Nation] were having trouble addressing the housing crisis, what they lacked was not the ability to manage their finances...but the material means to do so."
The judgment speaks to the issue of financial management a number of times:
p.24,"Despite the [Prime Minister's] comments about management, the Respondent has not produced evidence of incorrect spending or mismanagement. In fact, the reference by the Prime Minister as to the $90 million could not have related exclusively to the funds made available for housing repair or reconstruction."
p.21, "At no point prior to the appointment of the
[Third Party Manager] did department officials indicate there was any
problem with Band management. The Band was already under a
co-management regime and no issue of Band management or financial
administration was raised."
Over and over again, the Federal
Court states that financial mismanagement was not the issue, and never
had been. The fact that the public dialogue about Attawapiskat was
almost wholly concerned with allegations of such mismanagement,
demonstrates just how intensely events can become hijacked by
misunderstandings.
These misunderstandings did not exist only in the minds of the
"average Canadian," but also in the mind of Prime Minister Harper when
he made his statement about the $90 million, and in the minds of the local bureaucrats who were desperately trying to respond to the crisis. That much is extremely clear.
It
is unlikely that this finding will receive as much national attention
as the initial allegations of financial malfeasance, and so
unfortunately, this kind of misunderstanding becomes reinforced in the
public consciousness as an obvious truth. While this might feel like a
"one step forward, two steps back" situation, for me, it merely
highlights how important it is to keep chipping away at the lack of
understanding between native and non-native in this country. Quite
literally, lives depend on us doing so.
We should not underestimate the power of public opinion, nor of public discussions
p.2,"This
judicial review confirms, if such confirmation were needed, that
decisions made in the glare of publicity and amidst politically charged
debate do not always lead to a reasonable resolution of the relevant
issue."
p.26,"It would be inaccurate to suggest that officials were insensitive or uncaring about the situation at Attawapiskat...[t]he problem seems to have been a lack of understanding of the [Attawapiskat First Nation's] needs and an intention on the part of officials to be seen to be doing something."
The glare of publicity here is not the cause of the misunderstandings so explored by the Federal Court, just as Prime Minister Harper did not create the nation-wide clamour over supposed corruption in Attawapiskat. Both merely tapped into what already existed.
However this time, native peoples were able to also engage in that public dialogue on a less uneven footing. The Attawapiskat First Nation's webpage was a veritable treasure trove of information even before its financial records were suddenly the most Googled item for a few days. More importantly, the bulk of the conversation was happening between people, not between politicians.
I do think the Federal Court is suggesting that had the crisis not become so public and politically charged, the outcome may have been more satisfactory -- but I think that might be unduly optimistic. The crisis in Attawapiskat provided a wake-up call that actually reached the ears of the nation. Had it not become so public, I doubt we would have seen such a drastic shift in public opinion in favour of not accepting as self-evident that Attawapiskat was to blame for the housing situation.
I very much believe that out here, in the public, is where the most important gains can be made. We can't wait for more Royal Commissions or for widespread curricular reform, and we certainly can't wait for the Canadian government to lead the way. Instead, we should be bringing them along with us. Word by contested word until these misunderstandings are no longer threatening lives.
So let's do this. And maybe finally we can get past the wishing for, and into the planning and building stages.
A longer version of this article was published on the author's blog, âpihtawikosisân.
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Attawapiskat audit says federal funds spent without records
Spokesman for Chief Theresa Spence says Deloitte report is wrong, leak meant to discredit her
Jan 7, 2013
Attawapiskat records lacking3:15
A newly released audit of the federal funding spent by the
Attawapiskat First Nation has found significant documentation lacking
for the $104 million transferred to the band between 2005-2011.
But a spokesman for Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence suggested Monday morning that the audit was wrong and the leak was timed to discredit her as she continues her hunger strike amid national Idle No More protests.
The audit was requested by the federal government on Nov. 30 to ensure that the approximately $104 million it provided to Attawapiskat between April 2005 and November 2011 was spent as it should have been. The accounting firm Deloitte was engaged to perform the audit in December.
The funding was intended for housing, sewage, education and other services. CBC News obtained a copy of the audit before it was made public.
In a letter dated Aug. 28, 2012 that was written by Deloitte to Chief Spence and copied to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the auditing firm says that of 505 transactions reviewed, more than 400 lacked proper documentation.
The letter says "an average of 81 per cent of files did not have adequate supporting documents and over 60 per cent had no documentation of the reason for payment."
The letter to Spence also says there is "no evidence of due diligence on the part of Attawapiskat of funding provided by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada for housing projects and Health Canada for health-related projects."
Funding conditions may not have been met
CBC News' National Affairs Editor Chris Hall says the audit shows "fairly significant findings" about the problems on the reserve, "but what the audit could not do really was to determine whether the money was spent the way it was intended to be."
Deloitte said it could not conclude that the payments made by the band council were in accordance with the terms and conditions of funding agreements with the federal government.
Overall, the report recommends:
- Stricter enforcement measures.
- More eligibility requirements.
- More reviews of the First Nation's record-keeping.
The audit also noted "significant staff turnover" that had resulted in a "corporate memory loss" for transactions reported prior to 2010. Deloitte had difficulty tracing some of the earlier transactions because of changes in Attawapiskat's record-keeping systems.
Some of the details of specific transactions are blacked out in the copy obtained by CBC News, but in some cases, the report shows expenditures of five and six figures without any supporting documentation found by the audit.
After Deloitte reported its findings to Spence in late August, it's not known what she or the band council did in response.
The aboriginal affairs department says it discussed the audit with Attawapiskat's chief and council during a teleconference on Sept. 20. The department's deputy minister approved and signed off on the report in mid-October.
By midday on Monday, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada had posted the audit on its website. The federal government was required to make the report public on or before Jan. 16 - 90 days after the deputy minister of aboriginal affairs signed off on it.
State of emergency declared last winter
The Attawapiskat First Nation was placed under co-management more than a decade ago - a measure taken by the federal government to attempt to improve financial administration.
The band's co-manager, Clayton Kennedy, acknowledged being in a romantic relationship with the band's chief, Spence. But he denied any conflict of interest.
Spence declared a state of emergency on the reserve in the fall of 2011, citing a critical need for housing.
On Nov. 30, 2011, the federal government appointed a third-party manager to oversee the band's operations, citing urgent health and safety issues and a need for immediate action to remedy the problems. Spence and the band council tried to block the move with a court injunction.
Amid much media coverage, the government pledged to provide emergency housing. About two dozen modular homes were built and trucked to the community over last winter's ice roads.
The third-party manager was removed April 19, 2012, based on progress that was made. The First Nation returned to co-management.
Last August, a Federal Court judge found that it was "unreasonable" for the federal government to appoint a third-party manager in response to Attawapiskat's housing crisis.
Ottawa lawyer Paul Champ, who's representing the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada in a court case accusing the federal government of discrimination by funding First Nations child welfare, health and education at lower levels than non-aboriginal populations, questioned the "cynical timing" of the release of this audit.
He noted that the Federal Court found last summer that the department had not raised any issues with the band council about its record keeping before national media started covering Attawapiskat's housing crisis.
"The prime minister should be working to address the real funding inequities faced by reserves instead of looking to score cheap political points against vulnerable and disadvantaged Canadians," Champ wrote to CBC News.
Spence spokesman suggests audit is wrong
Spence has been on a hunger strike since Dec. 11, camped out in an aboriginal education centre on Victoria Island in the Ottawa River between downtown Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. She's demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston to discuss what she characterizes as "treaty issues" between First Nations and the Crown.
Spence's high-profile decision to forgo solid food until she gets her meeting is part of a nationwide series of protests, rallies and blockades under the banner of the grassroots Idle No More movement.
Spence's team was keeping reporters away from Spence on Monday morning, saying she was "focusing on her hunger strike" and accusing the media of not reporting their "honest information" back to Canadians.
Spence's spokesman, Danny Metatawabin, suggested that the audit was "absolutely," wrong but wouldn't comment further on its contents.
He also agreed with a suggestion that the audit was released to discredit Spence.
"The government's doing that," he said. "They're trying to undermine the process, the movement of the people."
"You have to understand what we're doing here. It's for all First Nations communities under the treaty, the nation to nation relationship," he said. "We should be undermining the prime minister. We should be undermining the Department of Indian Affairs for creating that injustice."
Harper agreed to meet with chiefs from First Nations this Friday and Spence has said she will attend, but is not giving up her hunger strike until she sees the outcome of the meeting.
On Friday, reporters asked Grand Chief Stan Louttit, who represents the northern Ontario region that includes Attawapiskat, about the status of the audit, which the band council agreed to when the First Nations problems first came under scrutiny.
"It is very, very difficult to do business in a remote community," Louttit said. "The average Canadian out there, they see millions and millions, and they just get concerned and said, 'Hey, there's something going on there.'
"But I challenge those people, come to the community and look at the books, and come and live there for a couple of weeks and you'll see," he said.
"The audit speaks for itself," said Jan O'Driscoll, the press secretary for Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan. "We accept its conclusions and recommendations."
Donations directed to Spence's partner
Spence's spokesman has been refusing to answer questions about the financial management in Attawapiskat, including one about a Facebook post asking for donations to support Spence's protest.
Macleans.ca reported Dec. 27 that Spence's team was offering bank account information on the official Facebook page of the hunger strike, for those who wanted to make donations. The account was listed as belonging to Kennedy, Spence's live-in partner and the band's co-manager.
When someone commented on the post to say that the tribal council that runs the region around Attawapiskat was also taking donations, the Spence supporter who first posted the account information replied that Spence "does not want anybody but Clay to handle finances."
The Facebook post has since been removed.
- Read the Deloitte audit of federal expenditures in Attawapiskat
- Former PM Paul Martin lauds Attawapiskat chief
- First Nations leader welcomes meeting with Harper
- 9 questions about Idle No More
- House essay: resource revenue sharing
- Spence to join Harper meeting with chiefs Jan. 11
- The National: CBC's Adrienne Arsenault visits the community of Attawapiskat last winter