(By Doug Cuthand / Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.)
SASKATOON.
It was quite a week.
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority was left with no choice but to fire its controversial CEO Dutch Lerat.
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde, to his credit, made the face-saving announcement, saying that Lerat was fired without severance.
An audit pointed out that Lerat had made about $360,000 in expenditures that were unaccountable.
There was no paper trail and the auditors flagged the situation to the provincial government.
The board of SIGA also came under criticism for its handling of the situation and the FSIN announced that each tribal council must confirm its appointment to the board or make a new appointment.
It would not have been proper for the FSIN to dismiss a board that it did not appoint.
Earlier in the week, the Saskatchewan Party had demanded that the provincial government fire the whole SIGA board.
This would only have made the problem worse and hardened the positions on both sides.
The Opposition obviously didn’t care, since it thrives on controversy and knows it will only get a limited number of Indian votes anyway.
At first, the FSIN raised the issue of jurisdiction but in the end it was put aside.
The gaming agreement with the province was inherited by the current chief and negotiated under Blaine Favel’s tenure.
In the give-and-take of negotiations, the province insisted on certain controls and got them.
The jurisdictional argument was a non-starter and clearly dealt with in the agreement.
The FSIN wisely backed away from that argument and saved the issue of provincial jurisdiction in First Nations affairs for another day.
This whole incident has the potential to haunt self-government if the First Nations leaders don’t take decisive action and get SIGA under control and gain back its credibility.
This won’t be as hard as it might sound.
SIGA has had several years of clean audits and administratively is a well-run ship.
All the casinos, with the exception of the Bear Claw Casino in the White Bear First Nation, have consistently created a profit. White Bear serves a small market area with a low population during the winter months.
The casinos have also lived up to projections in terms of wealth and job creation.
SIGA has created more than 1,200 jobs, with 800 going to aboriginal people.
Each year, millions of dollars go to First Nations and other worthy causes.
It may have been the success of SIGA that allowed Lerat to live the high life while the board turned a blind eye.
SIGA is a success story and Lerat’s overspending was small in comparison.
Today, SIGA’s reputation is in tatters.
The province will review the books and any discussions for further casino development are on hold until the fall.
SIGA had been negotiating a casino agreement for Saskatoon.
The lucrative Saskatoon market would potentially be the jewel in the crown for SIGA.
SIGA had also been negotiating with the Fist Nations in Manitoba for a management agreement with their proposed casino developments.
These negotiations are also in doubt.
This whole issue could prove costly for SIGA.
I have no doubt that SIGA will weather the storm.
Its past performance indicates that it has the administrative ability to come back rapidly.
I could not help but notice the double standard of the government and the Opposition.
A week earlier, the government had announced that it didn’t agree with the Supreme Court decision on gun control and wasn’t prepared to enforce it.
In the next breath, it was telling SIGA that it had to abide by a non-legislated agreement.
The Saskatchewan Party sanctimoniously jumped all over SIGA, demanding the firing of the board.
This was blatant hypocrisy in light of the fact that the Opposition’s predecessor, the Devine government, was a den of thieves and left the province close to bankruptcy.
I look back on the Devine government as proof positive that white people are not ready for self-government.
And then there’s Brendan Cross, the self-appointed leader of the First Nations Party of Saskatchewan, who shot himself in the foot.
His chances of a political future came to an end with his criticism of the FSIN, when he said it had delusions of grandeur and caved in under pressure.
If you plan to lead a First Nations party in this province, you have to respect the established organizations.
Remember his name, it might be an answer for a trivia question some day.
Time to renew your Saskatchewan Party membership, Brendan.
The FSIN and SIGA must now work to regain their credibility.
Much of this effort must be aimed at the First Nations community because, the end of the day, it is Indian people who live with the decisions of our leaders.
We are the ones with the biggest stake.
