The federal government has decided to launch a financial probe of the Métis National Council after a meeting with investigators from the RCMP.
Ernst & Young was hired by the federal Crown- Indigenous Relations Department to conduct a compliance audit of the MNC that began in July 2018. The MNC receives millions of dollars for its operations annually from the federal government.
The audit was launched after department officials met with the RCMP’s sensitive and international investigations unit who had opened a case on the MNC.
RCMP interviewed three former MNC employees. They named two individuals in advisory roles with the MNC who own, owned, or are connected to companies that have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts from the MNC over the last four years.
The complaint alleges that some federal funds transferred to the organization for Métis programs were redirected through double payments for travel, expenses and equipment and through contracts to a select group of companies and consultants.
No charges have been laid as a result of the allegations as they haven’t been proven in court.
