Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) says it will file a statement of claim against the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) to recover millions of dollars in spending, after issuing the group a final repayment notice last week.
ISC says it issued the organization, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan, a recovery letter seeking repayment of close to $12.4 million in funding, according to a statement shared with Global News.
The decision follows a similar legal threat issued last week by the FSIN, which said it does not accept the federal government’s conclusion or its claim that the expenditures are ineligible and is taking the department to court.
While the FSIN has not shared additional information about its legal action, Global News has obtained federal court documents filed by the organization in August, where the group is asking for a judicial review of what it alleges is unfair treatment by ISC, including the withholding of funds since being asked to repay what the department says is ineligible spending.
ISC’s final repayment notice to FSIN marks the latest development in a year-long dispute that earlier this year saw Indigenous Services Canada identify $28.7 million in ineligible and unsupported expenses between April 2019 and March 2024.
That figure was taken from the findings of a forensic audit ordered by ISC and conducted by KPMG, which last fall flagged $34 million in questionable, ineligible and unsupported spending related to COVID-19 expenditures, travel and payments made to a former employee.
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The FSIN has consistently disputed the findings of this audit and has defended its spending.
ISC says it continues to meet with FSIN but will not provide details of those encounters or what transpired over the past seven months, during which the repayment amount dropped by over $16 million.
“Due to privacy requirements and contractual obligations between Canada and the recipient, we are not in a position to share the letter, discuss its contents nor disclose any details of any subsequent meetings between ISC officials and the FSIN Executive,” said ISC spokesperson Carolane Gratton in a statement.
ISC says department officials, not Minister Mandy Gull-Masty, are involved in its audit processes, and that ISC auditors met regularly with FSIN officials to share updates and request more documents.
The statement comes after FSIN disputed the audit decision and said the minister had only communicated with the organization through the media, despite repeated attempts to reach her by phone and email.
In its statement last week, the FSIN said the organization participated fully in the federal review and held extensive line-by-line discussions with a negotiation team appointed by ISC, adding the two sides had substantially narrowed the disputed amount by June 12.
According to the FSIN, federal representatives had confirmed that all purchases of personal protective equipment, accounting for almost $8 million of the current $12.4-million claim, were substantiated as purchased and delivered and had been removed from the list of ineligible or questionable expenditures.
The organization said it was surprised those expenses were subsequently added back to the amount being claimed.
In its statement, ISC says the FSIN has until Nov. 13, 2026 to “communicate with ISC for the repayment of the total amount to the Receiver General of Canada.” However, in the letter sent to FSIN, the department said this was the deadline for payment in full.
ISC has not provided additional information surrounding its statement of claim or clarification surrounding the deadline.
Global News has reached out to FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron for comment but has not heard back.
Legal action unusual for federal government
Policy expert Ken Coates says it is unusual for federal departments to seek legal action for repayment from organizations they support, as they typically have longstanding relationships with them.
“In fact, critics of federal government spending have actually said for many years that they’ve been far too lax about doing that,” he said.
The case going to court will likely spur a larger conversation about federal funding approvals and decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic, Coates said.
“We’re gonna see what’s underneath the mushroom cap and we’re not gonna like it,” he said.
“We’re going to look and see how the Government of Canada authorized money. How did they make their decisions during the pandemic? What was the immediate oversight that was provided?”
With files from Alessia Simona Maratta
My recent post was deleted by Global News; it’s an educational post on Treaties and First Nations to combat the racism on this story. Why are my posts deleted but racists are allowed to post venom on here ???? Why???
TEAR ALL THESE 1,000,000 YEAR OLD TREATIES UP AND BURN !!! EBD OF PROBLEMS AND NATVES MILKING US TAXPAYERS DRY
I will believe it when I see it
I think the thieves will get away with it though
But for the Indian Act, RSC, 1876, there is essentially no such thing as ineligible expenditures, nor misspending of taxpayers money! Treaties 1-11 all state (to paraphrase): the First Nations are to count on the “benevolence and bounty of Her Majesty”. The signing of Treaties confirms that the First Nations are existing Sovereign Nations as decreed by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. This legality is written in stone.
The Queen brought a pen and paper to the treaty signing tables. The First Nations brought every ounce of wealth (lands, waters and resources therein) to the treaty signing tables. The Queen’s sacred obligation in the Treaties clearly states the First Nations shall be gifted freely (benevolence) in return, a share of the wealth (Her Majesty’s bounty); to “live in peace and goodwill.”
Therefore, when Canada was created in 1867, ten years later in 1876, Canada made First Nations wards of the state by virtue of the Indian Act.
This was not the deal. First Nations are to receive their own share of their own wealth to live on without accountability to no one but themselves! Treaty Implementation is the only Truth and Reconciliation measure needed to remove the illegal Indian Act and allow the spirit and intent of the Treaties to flourish.
The Feds in 2026 are gifting Europe 150 billion under NATO as 5% of GDP or a share of Canada’s wealth.
640 First Nations are forced by the Indian Act to survive off a paltry 23 billion per year. And whose wealth is it? First Nations ought to be gifted 10% of GDP annually or 300 billion annually and paid by transfer payments. First Nations ought to be the richest of the rich; not the poorest of the poor!
This claim by ISC against the FSIN is Canada’s apartheid policy under the guise of the rule of law; the Indian Act! Treaty Implementation is the answer and then there is no need to be accountable under the Indian Act!
Worst thing is only lawyers get ahead financially while taxpayers fund this ongoing b.s.