OPP probe powwow at Caldwell First Nation

Audit found nearly $290,000 in budget went to ‘unsupported’ event expenses

CHATHAM The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the Caldwell First Nation, which is mired in controversy over how the finances of a nearly $600,000 powwow were handled.

OPP Const. Jim Root confirmed Monday the Essex OPP “has an ongoing investigation in relation to the Caldwell First Nation in Leamington.”

No further details were available, but Root said the OPP expects to issue a news release Tuesday.

Chief Louise Hillier and councillor Lonnie Dodge were removed from office by the band council over the weekend

The issue came to a boil in early June, when the entire Caldwell band council was suspended pending a forensic audit into the financial affairs of the Leamington-based First Nation’s first-ever powwow held in August 2016, to celebrate a $105-million landclaim settlement it had reached with the federal government in 2011.

Details of the audit, released to the Caldwell membership in early September, and discussed at length during a general membership meeting in Leamington on Saturday, caused outrage among many band members.

The audit noted $576,111 was spent on the powwow, including nearly $290,000 in “unsupported” expenses, the largest portion being $247,790 awarded in prize money to participants in dance and singer/drummer competitions.

The auditors found “no information on winners beyond their names,” and couldn’t confirm amounts paid out.

The report also cited a $190,000 untendered contract awarded to the chief ’s son, David Hillier, owner of Moccasin Media, to make a video of the two-day event.

The auditors recommended a legal opinion be sought about a possible conflict of interest with Chief Hillier, because of her involvement in obtaining a $60,000 bank draft for a portion of the payment for Moccasin Media, without approval from any other councillor.

The auditors also recommended a legal opinion be sought whether Dodge, who signed the video contract for the First Nation with Moccasin Media, breached his fiduciary duty by acting outside the conventions of council.

The audit also detailed another concerning issue about a bank investigation that revealed 99 $50-bills were missing from a powwow deposit.