Ken Courchene

Ken Courchene is a former Chief of the Fort Alexander Indian Band in the Canadian province of Manitoba. He has been sued by the federal government for his alleged role in the Virginia Fontaine Memorial Treatment Centre controversy.

Political career

Courchene was Chief of the Fort Alexander Indian Band during the 1980s. The community's name was later changed to the Sagkeeng First Nation.

In 1984, Courchene and the Sagkeeng Band Council refused an order from the Canada Labour Relations Board to reinstate four teachers who were fired for engaging in union activities. Justice Paul Rouleau of the Federal Court of Canada found Courchene and the other councillors in contempt of court for their decision, remarking that he had seldom seen such brazen contempt for authority. The band council was fined $15,000, and Courchene was fined $5,000. ["Fired teachers, Manitoba Indians get $25,000 fine", "Globe and Mail", 22 November 1984, P4.] Newspaper accounts do not indicate if the sentence was appealed.

Courchene served as acting chairman of the First Nations Confederacy in 1987. He welcomed a report from the Coopers & Lybrand Consulting Group, which found that federal Indian Affairs officials deliberately ignored regulations for expenditure controls in Manitoba. [Geoffrey York, "Indian Affairs rules broken by officials, auditors report", "Globe and Mail", 22 September 1987, A3.]

The Department of Indian Affairs took over Fort Alexander's programs and finances later in the same year, arguing that the band was at least $1.2 million in debt. Courchene had previously rejected a plan to devolve oversight powers to a committee with federal and band representatives. ["Ottawa oversees band's finances", "Globe and Mail", 23 November 1987, A10.]

In 1989, Courchene argued that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police spent too much time patrolling his territory. A local RCMP official denied that his department was profiling Fort Alexander residents, and said that officers generally entered the reserve in response to calls for assistance. ["RCMP too attentive, chief tells Manitoba inquiry", "Globe and Mail", 2 February 1989, A9.] Courchene was succeeded as chief by Jerry Fontaine later in the same year.

Virginia Fontaine Memorial Treatment Centre Controversy

After standing down as chief, Courchene became Chief Operating Officer of the Virginia Fontaine Memorial Treatment Centre in Sagkeeng. The centre was the subject of a federal audit in 1995, which uncovered nearly $1.2 million in "unsupported per diem billings", $1.3 million in "questionable expenditures" and $200,000 in "travel expenses not supported with original receipts". Courchene said that the audit was "born in a series of lies" by Indian Affairs officials trying to assert control over the band's finances. [David Kuxhaus, "Where did themoney go?", "Winnipeg Free Press", 10 October 2004, B1.]

In October 2000, the Canadian media reported allegations that centre directors, staff members and their spouses had taken a week-long Caribbean cruise with money from their professional development budget. The federal government donated $7.2 million per year to the centre at the time, and there were concerns that federal funds had been used for the vacation. Courchene said that employees raised the money privately, and that it was not of the general operating budget. He later said that the money was raised through charity bingos. Notwithstanding his comments, the federal government ordered a forsenic audit into the centre's budget in the same month as the controversy broke. [Jennifer Ditchburn, "Federal health minister orders audit of Manitoba treatment centre", "Canadian Press", 18 October 2000, 16:56 report; Paul Waldie, "Bingo, not public money, paid for cruise: official", "National Post", 19 October 2000, A3.] Other allegations of improper spending were reported in the following weeks, and some executives at Manitoba's other aboriginal treatment centres expressed surprise at the amount of federal money received by Virginia Fontaine. [Bill Redekop, "Sagkeeng a magnet for federal cash", "Winnipeg Free Press", 23 January 2001, A9.]

Courchene argued that the treatment centre was not required to cede its financial records to federal auditors, saying that the institution was an independent contractor in partnership with the government. [Bill Redekop, "Sagkeeng centre keeps financial records secret", "Winnipeg Free Press", 7 November 2000, A4.] He later agreed to provide the government with documents covering the period after July 1, 2000. The federal government accepted this condition in mid-November. [Bill Redekop, "Audit will miss how millions were spent at Sagkeeng centre, critics say", "Winnipeg Free Press", 14 November 2000, A1.]

One month later, Health Canada announced that it was withdrawing financial support from the centre. A representative said that the federal agency had "lost confidence in the foundation's ability to manage the funds they've been receiving", adding that staff were not cooperating with the audit. ["Feds cut funding to Mba native treatment centre after controversial spending", "Canadian Press", 1 December 2000, 21:20 report.] The federal government subsequently sued Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation Inc. and its directors for the recovery of public funds, and attempted to bring the centre into receivership. [Bud Robertson, "Ottawa takes Sagkeeng centre to court", "Winnipeg Free Press", 9 December 2000, A1. Health Canada and the RCMP later reviewed allegations that the Sagkeeng centre's network administrator was asked asked to delete financial records. See Bill Redekop, "Bid to wipe Sagkeeng centre records alleged", "Winnipeg Free Press", 12 December 2000, A1.]

In February 2001, Courchene acknowledged that he had made several incorrect statements in a prior affidavit detailing the centre's financial activities. Among other things, he retracted his claim that the centre had never held board meetings before negotiating a $35 million deal with the federal government. He also said that he did not know the source of $491,000 deposited in the centre's account in September, and blamed a bad memory and shoddy bookkeeping for the discrepancies. [Mike McIntyre, "Wrong statements, bad memory", "Winnipeg Free Press", 8 February 2001, A1; "Audits, not junkets, for native reserves" [editorial] , "National Post", 10 February 2001, A15.]

Associate Justice Jeffrey Oliphant of the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba issued a scathing indictment of financial practices at the centre on February 8, 2001, and gave the federal government permission to conduct an "unrestricted audit". [Bill Redekop, "Sagkeeng loses battle", "Winnipeg Free Press", 9 February 2006, A1.] The centre closed later in the month. [Bill Redekop, "Sagkeeng centre closes", "Winnipeg Free Press", 21 February 2001, A1.] It was later revealed that SJC Consulting, operated by Courchene's cousin Steve Courchene, received $1.9 million from the centre between April 1, 1992 and September 30, 1995. Steve Courchene was an executive member of the Virginia Fontaine Memorial Centre at the time of the payments. [Bill Redekop, "Centre paid adviser $1.9M", "Winnipeg Free Press", 28 February 2001, A1.]

The Fontaine Centre's executive members initially filed a joint statement of defence in response to the federal government's civil suit. This unity collapsed in 2005, when Courchene, Lana Daniels and Keith Fontaine submitted that centre director Perry Fontaine and two federal officials had conspired for the deliberate misuse of public monies. Courchene, Daniels and Keith Fontaine sued Perry Fontaine and the federal government, and were in turn sued by Perry Fontaine. [Paul Samyn, "Health Canada officials linked to fraud probe", "Winnipeg Free Press", 3 January 2005, B4.] In November 2005, the federal government further alleged that Ken Courchene, Steve Courchene, Keith Fontaine and Perry Fontaine were part of a conspiracy to defraud the federal government of $332,000 relating to the lease on a gym they claimed to own. [Paul Samyn, "New charges stemming from addiction centre", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 November 2005, A5.]

None of the charges against Courchene have been proven in court.

Magistrate

In July 2002, Ken Courchene was appointed by the province of Manitoba as magistrate for the Sagkeeng and Pine Falls area. ["Lawsuit, audits dog new magistrate Courchene named to community job", "Winnipeg Free Press", 17 September 2002, A8.] Joy Smith, the opposition Justice Critic, unsuccessfully called for the appointment to be rescinded. ["Tory critic attacks appointment of former treatment centre director", "Winnipeg Free Press", 18 September 2002, A8.] His duties included authorizing police searches, issuing summons and taking oaths, and he often worked from the RCMP detachment in Powerview. [Graeme Smith, "Ex-bosses' fate frustrates whistle blowers", "Winnipeg Free Press", 5 July 2003, A4.]

Courchene's position was placed under judicial scrutiny in early 2004, after a forensic audit drew attention to "unusual" payments he received from the Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation over a 29-month period. [Paul Samyn, "'Unusual' pay for ex-CEO of rehab clinic", "Winnipeg Free Press", 1 February 2004, A3.] Provincial justice officials argued that the payments raised "a perception of poor judgment and conduct unbecoming of a judicial officer". [Paul Samyn, "Judge to decide on magistrate's future", "Winnipeg Free Press", 6 February 2004, A1.] The presiding judge ruled in favour of Courchene, determining that the accusations amounted to "perception, innuendo or untested allegations" rather than concrete evidence. [Paul Samyn, "Top judge backs magistrate", "Winnipeg Free Press", 29 March 2004, A5.]

Footnotes