Councillor launches conspiracy lawsuit

Lawsuit accuses members of planning to take funds from settlement with Ottawa

JONNY WAKEFIELD

A Fort McMurray First Nation councillor has filed a lawsuit alleging other leaders on council and a high-ranking staff member conspired to take more than a half-million dollars from a nearly $35-million settlement with the federal government.

Coun. Samantha Whalen filed the lawsuit in Fort McMurray on Aug. 23.

The 10-page statement of claim names Fort McMurray #468 First Nation (FMFN) Chief Ronald Alfred Kreutzer, CEO Bradley Callihoo, Coun. Ronald Allen Kreutzer, ex-councillor Byron Bates and a numbered company as defendants.

Among other things, Whalen is seeking a court order that $600,000 in allegedly misused funds be repaid to the nation, a court declaration that the defendants “breached their fiduciary duties,” and $100,000 in damages payable to the nation.

Callihoo and Kreutzer declined to comment Wednesday, saying the matter is before the courts. Callihoo said a statement of defence has not been filed.

Statements of claim contain allegations not proven in court.

Whalen alleges the $600,000 came out of a $34.7-million payment the nation received as a settlement from the federal government.

The nation filed a specific claim in 1998 claiming the Crown historically failed to provide it with agricultural benefits promised under Treaty 8.

The Crown offered the settlement on Feb. 2, 2017, the statement of claim says, and members voted to ratify the deal that June.

Before the deal passed, members were consulted on how the money from the settlement would be used. Under the ratified deal, each member was to receive $20,000, totalling $15.6 million, the claim states.

Another $8 million was to go into a community trust, $10.4 million would be placed in a settlement trust, while $800,000 was set aside for legal and associated costs.

The Crown and the First Nation identified 805 current or potential members during negotiations — a number which was used to calculate the per capita payment amounts.

The claim states about $1.4 million was left over after the payments were made to members because some of those entitled to a payment could not immediately be identified.

Those include members who were adopted out of the nation as children, live off reserve or have no fixed address.

The lawsuit described these members as “particularly vulnerable.”

The lawsuit alleges Callihoo incorporated a numbered company, 2050787 Alberta Ltd. on June 15, 2017, then delivered a $600,000 invoice to the nation’s council on or around Nov. 20.

Whalen claims the money, which the invoice allegedly stated was for “Treaty Land Entitlement Negotiations — Agricultural Benefits Settlement” came out of the $1.4 million in leftover funds.

The lawsuit claims the payment, which under the agreement was to be held in trust, was deposited into the numbered company’s account after an “informal” approval by council.

Callihoo already receives a “substantial” annual salary, it is alleged, and his contract contains no provision for bonuses or commissions.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that Callihoo and the numbered company either kept funds from the payment or shared them among either all or some of the other defendants.

“In either case, the $600,000 payment was not used for the benefit of FMFN and its members,” the lawsuit states, “in contravention of the representations made to the FMFN members, the representations made to the Crown and in contravention of the fiduciary duties of Chief Kreutzer, Councillor Kreutzer, Bates and Callihoo.”

‘IRREGULARITIES’

The lawsuit goes on to claim that Bates was given a job as a “project manager” with no public hiring process after he unsuccessfully ran for chief.

As well, it identifies other alleged “irregularities” in the nation’s financial management. Kreutzer is alleged to have “misappropriated” funds to buy a new vehicle, while Callihoo is alleged to have incurred around $500,000 in credit card charges on his personal credit card that was “entirely paid by the FMFN.” The claim alleges this included personal expenses.

Whalen, who was elected to council on June 8, 2018, also claims her efforts to gather further information about the nation’s finances have been obstructed.

“The defendants have gone to great lengths to prevent her from obtaining any further information about the financial workings of the FMFN,” states the claim, adding this has “obstructed her and prevented her from discharging her duties as an elected councillor.”

“When the plaintiff questioned Chief Kreutzer about the $600,000 payment on or around June 25, 2018, Chief Kreutzer advised her, ‘Shut up and stop digging around trying to cause trouble,’” the claim says.

The defendants have between 20 days and two months to respond to the lawsuit, depending on where they live.

The defendants have gone to great lengths to prevent her from obtaining any further information about the financial workings of the FMFN.