Feds reimburse Attawapiskat First Nation for third-party manager costs

The Conservative federal government has reimbursed Attawapiskat First Nation for the appointment of a third-party manager to take over the books after the community declared a state of emergency in housing during the winter of 2011. Documents obtained by the Toronto Star reveal Aboriginal Affairs agreed to transfer $136,132 to Attawapiskat last year to cover those costs. Attawapiskat leadership vigorously opposed the imposition of the third-party manager, which was part of the governments’ response to the housing shortage that saw people living in unheated hovels as the harsh northern Ontario winter approached. Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence showed third-party manager Jacques Marion the door, sending him out of the community on the day he arrived. She said she refused to pay for him and asked the Federal Court for a judicial review of the appointment. The court decided in favor of the community in August 2012. Attawapiskat was awarded legal costs, but the court did not order the feds to pay for the manager though it called the appointment of Marion “unreasonable in all circumstances.”