An abridged federal government report on alleged irregularities by the Manitoba Association of Native Fire Fighters criticized catering expenses and lax human-resources and management issues, but fell well short of the full audit observers and critics had been expecting.
And one of the claimants who says the MANFF still owes him $3 million said he would press for that audit to be produced soon.
Bernard Valcourt, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, said on Friday that MANFF’s federal funding, worth $700,000 annually, was being cut off. He said First Nations deserved better services from emergency providers.
The department had been been expected to post the full report on its website, but only the synopsis appeared on Saturday. A federal spokeswoman said she could not say if the full KPMG report would be posted online.
MANFF said in a statement it issued Saturday night it would not be commenting on the issue until later.
"The Manitoba Association of Native Fire Fighters has not had the opportunity to review or discuss this decision with AANDC. Until such discussion takes place, no further comment will be made."
Accounting firm KPMG was hired by Ottawa in April 2013 to look into allegations of financial abuse and mismanagement surrounding MANFF’s handling of accommodation and meals provided for more than 2,000 evacuees from a half-dozen Manitoba First Nations flooded in the spring of 2011. MANFF was responsible for over $100 million in evacuee costs.
Mike Bruneau, the Manitoba hotel owner who blew the whistle on the problems with MANFF’s management in April 2013, initially believed that Ottawa’s cutting of financial ties with MANFF was a prelude to the release of a potentially damning report.
But he wasn’t surprised the full report failed to appear as he is convinced it would make the government look bad for keeping MANFF afloat this long. But in the end, he said, the report will have to come out.
"They can only hold off for so long. My lawyers are going to ask for it in court.," Bruneau said by telephone on Saturday. "They’ll have to give it to us as evidence. The judge will ask for it."
Bruneau is suing MANFF for $3 million in unpaid bills for evacuees who stayed at his hotels in Gimli and Ashern. He has rejected repeated attempts by lawyers representing the federal government to settle.
MANFF’s services will be replaced as part of a new national system of emergency services Ottawa wants to negotiate with provinces and First Nations, Valcourt’s statement said Friday.
cThe Red Cross is now responsible for emergency funding related to the 2011 flood. As of this past summer, almost 2,000 people from six First Nations in western Manitoba were still out of their homes.
The summary detailed MANFF’s spending on late night snacks from Mona Lisa Ristorante for some evacuees. That showed "little consideration for value for money".
The report singled out salary issues, saying that no MANFF salary was greater than $79,000, regardless of the duties or responsibilities of the position.
That was part of an organization weakness. No financial statements were produced in the 27-month period after the 2011 flood that KGMP probed. Bank reconciliations were not provided and some transactions were missing from files.
In the end, it said MANFF ran the operation as if it was dealing with a short-term crisis instead of a long-term situation calling for better accounting practices and funding management.
Wage rates and increases, it said, were inconsistent with the agency’s policies. For example, in 2011-12, $1,000 bonuses were given to a few employees for unknown reasons.
Those findings confirmed earlier criticisms from the KPMG report already circulated. These included MANFF transferring $61,800 in hotel loyalty points to board members for personal use. In another case, a worker was paid $42,000 in overtime for 2011-12 and 2012-13. The next highest overtime pay was $12,000.
But the report cleared MANFF of wrongdoing in terms of travel expenses. In one trip, the agency CEO booked a Vancouver ticket for himself and a woman and they shared a hotel room for a week in October 2013.
The next month, the same CEO and seven other officials took another all-expenses-paid trip to Toronto for a national conference hosted by ground search and rescue. Both were legitimate as they involved business conferences, Ottawa said.
"Two travel expenses were closely examined. No major concerns related to (them) were identified," the summary said.
Original Article
Source: winnipegfreepress.com/
Author: By: Alexandra Paul
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