Thread by @TheReclamare

Where our taxes go, First Nations Edition

KPMG audited the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) representing 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan

They analyzed spending between April 2019 and March 2024

Hang on🧵

#1 - COVID Funding

$26 million was audited
KPMG found $23.5 million was questionable
** an 89% failure rate**

- no records
- missing contracts
- missing invoices

# 2 - Travel expenditures

$800K of travel spending was audited
$316K was flagged by auditors, a 39% failure rate

Half the travel bookings couldn't be justified, either policy violations or they couldn't explain the purpose. And one Vice Chief was billing personal trips

# 3 - Executive Pay Raises during Covid

On November 5, 2020, a briefing note went to FSIN's Treasury Board recommending:

$60,000 pay raise for the Chief
$40,000 pay raise for each Vice Chief

Retroactive 8 months prior

# 4 - Fleet Vehicles
$1.4 million in fleet purchases examined
$427,966 flagged as questionable, a 29% failure rate

Executives purchased new trucks every couple of years, but couldn't prove it was necessary, and then sold the old vehicles to themselves at a loss

# 5 - Payments to former employee
$530,136 was audited
$246,524 was flagged, a 46% failure rate

One person had a side company billing for work they were being paid to do as an employee.
They also resigned to obtain severance, only to be rehired a week later

#6 - Procurement
$1.5M audited
$300,000 flagged, a 19% failure rate

9 vendors used the same invoice template paid out of a Vice Chief's program, where the "deliverable is unknown"

49 transactions totalling $492,332 didn't have proper approval for the purchase

#7 - Administration
$11 million audited
$8 million flagged, a 72% failure rate

$5.2 million went to "executive offices"
$2.3 million went to new vehicles and a building

# 8 - New Office Building
$1.2 million audited
$962,000 flagged, a 75% failure rate

FSIN used grant money to pay for the building. Then claimed rent payments for repayment by Ottawa

As well, they doubled billed taxpayers for utility and maintenance costs

# 9 - Fees and Charges for Services
$630,000 audited
$410,000 flagged , a 65% failure rate

- took ineligible payments
- over charged $74,000 for photo copies
- over billed $98,000 for vehicle expenses
- double billed $20K in rental fees

FSIN is not an Indian Band but a First Nations middle man
They are an Indigenous NGO receiving tax dollars to administer government programs, like Covid relief

They cheat their own people, and taxpayers
And nothing will come of this audit, cause it would be "RaCiSt" /Fin

Last one - the FSIN @fsinations is the same as Coastal First Nations @CFNGBI and Union of BC Indian Chiefs @UBCIC

NGO's taking money away from other First Nations, its people, and CDN tax payers

The FSIN is an independent NGO, comprised of Indigenous from various bands.

The audit is not of the spending of 74 different bands, but the single NGO who works on there behalf to administer government programs

Link to report