By Marcus Bankuti | The Eastern Door
Marie-Claude Bernard, the former finance head for the disbanded Emergency Response Unit (ERU), has been reinstated to her position at the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) finance department following a labour tribunal ruling, the MCK has announced.
A police investigation into the ERU is still ongoing, years after a scandal first broke alleging misappropriation of funds intended for COVID-19 pandemic relief, in which members of the ad hoc body were accused of financial mismanagement that included large “top-ups,” in which ERU members were paid two salaries.
The report summary also flagged a number of transactions deemed suspicious by the auditor.
Bernard did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article, but soon after the audit summary was released in summer 2022, she told The Eastern Door, “I don’t know how they did the audit, but nobody ever contacted me, so I’m sure there’s a lot of wrong things in it, and they need more information.”
She returned to work this week at her previous salary, according to MCK chief Brant Etienne. As Council’s finance manager, she was being paid $2,288 biweekly, according to the audit summary. She received an additional $4,720 biweekly for her role as the ERU’s finance head during the same period, which covers April 2020 to July 2021, for a total of $231,122 in that time.
A response from former ERU members after the audit summary was released pointed to overtime compensation as a reason for such elevated numbers.
Bernard’s employment was terminated by the MCK near the beginning of this Council term, according to Etienne, but Bernard responded with a wrongful dismissal complaint that led to her reinstatement this week.
Other details are yet to be determined, Etienne said.
“She was unjustly dismissed according to the tribunal, she’s been reinstated, and for now we have other things to deal with,” he said.
The press release announcing her return indicated that “an evaluation of her case will be conducted” in the new year, however this is not a reference to any sanction; rather, it refers to her role in the department, which has been severely understaffed since the recent departure of the subsequent finance manager, Ami-Lee Trentin Hannaburg, who accepted a position at the Kanesatake Health Center (KHC).
“Our focus is on making sure the finances of the community are stable, all the bills are being paid, all the employees are getting their salaries, that everything is in the black, and it has been for the last four years,” said Etienne.
While Council would be compelled by a ruling to allow Bernard to return, Etienne – who was not in Council at the time of the ERU – said he has not seen hard evidence that in his view determines the guilt of any ERU members.
“All of that information that was being fed to people prior to the election and right after, they should rethink if that was true or not. If the investigation does find something, then at that time we’ll take action, but so far, where’s the body? Where’s the evidence?” he said.
He suggested the ERU investigation has been used as a political wedge by MCK grand chief Victor Bonspille, who has railed against the defunct pandemic response unit at public meetings for years.
Bonspille invoked the ERU scandal in comments directly to prime minister Justin Trudeau at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) special chiefs’ assembly earlier this month. There, he said the investigation had been elevated from fraud to embezzlement.
Bonspille did not reply to a request for comment for this article.
According to Etienne, the MCK subsequently clarified with police that there was no change in focus.
Contacted by The Eastern Door, Surete du Quebec spokesperson Marc Tessier suggested any determination of this nature is premature.
“I can only say that it is an investigation,” Tessier wrote. “It is the result of the investigation which will subsequently determine the type of possible accusation. (Example: this involves fraud, embezzlement, breach of trust, etc.)”
The MCK also announced the position of finance clerk was filled this month, easing the burden on the department, which still needs to submit the 2023-2024 financial statements that will be made available online and were due in July.
