Kanesatake police audit raises 'concerns,' says Day

The federal government is examining the results of its forensic audit of the Kanesatake Mohawk Police Service over alleged mismanagement of funding.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in a statement late Wednesday that the exhaustive 108-page document raised some concerns.

"I am concerned by some of the findings in the report we received from the auditor. As such, I have directed departmental officials to study whether any further steps need to be taken with the audit findings," Day said in a statement.

The federal government launched the audit in February 2007, focusing on financial contributions granted by Ottawa for the Kanesatake police service between April 1, 2003, and March 31, 2005.

An initial review of financial activities in Kanesatake between April 2003 and March 2005 questioned $34 million in spending for security on the aboriginal territory, located about 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

The majority of that spending involved extra expenses for the Quebec provincial police force, to the tune of $25 million.

Police force bookkeeping under investigation

The audit showed inconsistencies with the funding of the Kanesatake police, including questions about overtime payments, unexplained adjustments, multiple payments for the same expenses and questionable expense claims.

The audit also keyed in on three extraordinary contributions by the federal government of about $3 million to the Kanesatake police to help them make ends meet, agreements the Public Safety Department did not have the right to make.

The audit also looked at logistical mismanagement within the force itself.

It found five Tasers are missing and six police vehicles are unaccounted for on the aboriginal territory.

Reached at home Wednesday night, current Grand Chief Steven Bonspille told the Canadian Press that he would take the morning to digest the entire audit and discuss it with other band officials before making any comments.

In the past, the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake had called on Day to order a thorough, independent study from the outset, one that included the RCMP and Quebec provincial police.

In a statement, Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said more stringent vigilance is required.

"The forensic report highlights the need to promote greater accountability, transparency and oversight for Aboriginal Peoples and all Canadians," Strahl said in a statement.

"Our government has already taken action in this area by implementing a number of significant measures, including new audit clauses in my department, that ensure investments are in fact going to intended programs."

Kanesatake police force mired in controversy

The federal and provincial governments handed over the funds after then grand chief James Gabriel pleaded for help to establish his own police force to fight organized crime.

Gabriel hired 67 of his own officers to patrol the community of 1,300 but things turned ugly in January 2004 when the new force tried to raid the existing police station.

Members of the community surrounded the station and held the new force hostage for 36 hours.

Gabriel's house was burned to the ground and he and his police force fled the community, holing up in a hotel in nearby Laval for two years at a cost of $2 million.

The federal government said in a statement that it decided on a forensic audit after discussions between several departments and the Office of Auditor General Sheila Fraser.

The preliminary audit last fall found several instances where police officers on Gabriel's payroll received double pay and the former police chief earned more than $197,000 for 11 months of work.

Gabriel, who has left the community and now lives in Ontario, has defended his actions in the past.

He has said all purchases were approved by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada.

Since 2005 Quebec provincial police have helped patrol the troubled Mohawk community, which was also at the centre of the 1990 Oka crisis.

Day says he's open to re-establishing financing for the Kanesatake police if the prerequisite conditions exist.