The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) is speaking out publicly for the first time in days amid mounting pressure for accountability, after the federal government asked it to repay millions of dollars in spending.

In a news release shared online by the FSIN, the organization is defending its $28.7 million in spending between April 2019 and March 2024, calling the audit conducted by KMPG into its spending a “fundamental disagreement in interpretation” and not a misuse of funds.

“At no point has there been any finding of fraud, personal gain, or intentional wrongdoing. Instead, the issues raised relate to classification, allocation, and evolving interpretations of administration,” the statement reads.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) sent a letter to FSIN dated March 12, sharing its response to the audit and detailing ineligible and unsupported expenses in several categories, including COVID-19, administration, fleet vehicles purchased, and a new office building. Just over $4.8 million is deemed “ineligible,” while $23.9 million is considered “unsupported.”

COVID-19-related expenditures make up most of the unsupported costs, totalling more than $23.2 million. The ISC said in its letter that this spending line was largely due to a lack of documentation to validate purchases of personal protective equipment, along with their delivery and distribution to First Nations.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.

In its Tuesday statement, the FSIN defends its COVID-19 relief spending, saying it has documentation supporting its personal protective equipment rollout, including chiefs who signed off on the deliveries.

“The efforts of FSIN staff that put their health and the health of their families at risk to deliver PPE during COVID should be celebrated — not denied,” the statement reads.

Some chiefs supported FSIN’s handling of the pandemic on Monday at a press conference to which the organization only invited Global News and one other publication.

“We are saying clearly today that First Nation governments cannot be expected to carry the burden of over-recording, shifting rules and public criticism while being denied the respect owed to governments,” said Michael Starr, chief of Star Blanket Cree Nation, on Monday.

2:19
‘We will go to court’: Chief pushes back after FSIN asked to repay $28.7M

The statement goes on to say that the FSIN “remains committed to transparency and accountability,” adding that accountability “must be grounded in fairness, consistency, and respect for the Treaty relationship.”

But for political strategist Jennifer Laewetz, the FSIN is not taking accountability for its actions.

“Every organization has the capacity to make mistakes,” Laewetz said.

“This could have been the opportunity to say, ‘We’re going to be looking at our internal processes, we’re going to be looking at strengthening our processes, what can we do better, and what can we learn from this?’”

Laewetz adds that this ongoing audit saga only detracts from bigger issues in First Nations communities.

“The fact that we’re even wasting this amount of time and this kind of distraction during very big critical items that are hitting the table in this country, including Bill C-5 and Bill S-2, we need these organizations to be very strong.”

The ISC released findings from the audit last fall, noting $34 million in questionable transactions.

Band Members Alliance and Advocacy Association of Canada shared the ISC’s letter to FSIN online last Friday after a whistleblower provided it to them.

The FSIN has until April 2 to dispute the audit’s claims.

FSIN chief Bobby Cameron said Monday he intends to take the matters to court once mandated by chiefs.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Officials say getting together to make connections in the Indigenous community plays a big role in reconciliation.

The 5th annual Indigenous Business Gathering, hosted by the government of Saskatchewan on Wednesday, allowed people to do just that.

“The more that we can get together to be able to compare notes, especially with the federal government having ideas in the province in regards to what policy they put in place, but at the same time the important part is having entrepreneurs meet and have a gathering like this to be to share stories, but more importantly, how do we… begin to create better business partnerships,” said Glen McCallum, president of Métis Nation Saskatchewan.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Indigenous businesses and companies at the event say it’s important to them to have a place to connect.

“It’s all about relationship building in the Indigenous community. So, we get to come together, we get to see our good friends here, people we’ve worked with in the past, meet new people, see what’s up and coming in the indigenous business sector,” said Dawn Deguire, an independent consultant at Truth Inside Coaching and Healing.

“If I was looking for a screenprinting company that is indigenous owned for me to hit my targets of Indigenous procurement, I can look around a room like this and find one of them,” said Brad Spence, director of trading and employment for George Gordon Development.

With many different companies of different sizes at Prairieland, partnerships can make a big difference.

“There’s a lot of businesses that don’t have the spotlight that others do, so we try make sure that we all get that same kind of attention they need,” said Ron Hyggen, CEO of Kitsaki Management.

Watch above for more on how the Indigenous Business Gathering helps the community connect.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The British Columbia First Nation that announced the discovery of 215 potential unmarked graves at a former residential school in 2021, catapulting the issue into public discourse, says there may never be consensus on what to do with the site.

A statement from the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation says possible future outcomes for the Kamloops Indian Residential School property include excavation or preserving its orchard as a sacred site, “a place of memory and healing.”

The nation says its investigation is ongoing, with the findings so far pointing to several areas of focus, with “signatures that resemble burials” identified in some, and other areas ruled out as burial sites.

Tuesday’s statement says more than 500 children from 38 Indigenous nations living in 119 B.C. communities attended the institution at its peak, and the nation must seek consensus on how ancestral remains should be treated.

Still, it says “we also understand that full consensus may never be achieved.”

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The nation says any remains would need to be repatriated in their home communities, calling it an “extremely complex and sensitive process” involving consultation with those nations, DNA analysis and forensic expertise.

Whether to dig at the site has been a fraught question, with no agreement among survivors of the institution. Some have said they see exhumation as a process to help lay victims to rest, while others don’t want the site disturbed.

In 2022, a year after the initial announcement of the discovery of suspected unmarked graves, Tk’emlups Chief Rosanne Casimir described the nation’s approach as an ongoing process of “exhumation to memorialization.”

The probe has included the use of ground-penetrating radar, LIDAR scanning and specially trained dogs, along with the examination of records from the Catholic Church and the B.C. and federal governments, said the statement this week.

“While the investigation has been more complex than we initially thought, we are making progress and will continue adapting our methodologies and information as it advances,” it said.

A report by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 detailed harsh mistreatment at residential institutions across Canada, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse of children, and at least 4,100 deaths.

The report cited records of at least 51 children dying at the Kamloops school between 1914 and 1963. Health officials in 1918 believed children at the school were not being adequately fed, leading to malnutrition, the report noted.

The Kamloops institution operated between 1890 and 1969, when Ottawa took control from the Catholic Church and ran it as a day school until it closed in 1978.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

A proposed uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan has the support of several Indigenous communities as it enters the final stage of seeking federal approval.

Canadian mining company NexGen Energy Ltd. presented its Rook I development project and heard from several key Indigenous stakeholders in Saskatoon on Monday, the first day of the second part of its hearing before the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).

The proposed mine is located in the southwestern Athabasca Basin, around 150 km north of La Loche, Sask.

NexGen has identified four Indigenous nations in and around the proposed mine area that have signed impact benefit agreements with the company and offered their support for the project. These nations are the Clearwater River Dene Nation, a regional division of Métis Nation Saskatchewan, Birch Narrows Dene Nation and Buffalo River Dene Nation.

Dene Nation elder Jimmy Montgrand was in attendance at the hearings on Monday and says the mining projects are more than just extracting materials from the ground, but for “the future generation of Indigenous kids in that region.”

Montgrand supports the project, adding that ongoing collaboration between the company and the local Indigenous nations is crucial to success, especially given that the proposed mining site is home to historical sites.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

“We’re trying to maintain, according to the elders, what is beneficial for both the Indigenous groups of that region, as well as the corporations that are working with in that area,” said Montgrand.

Components of the mine include underground and surface facilities, along with an onsite mill that is expected to process an average of 1,400 tonnes of ore per day.

The project, which has been in the works for over a decade, is also expected to generate 1,400 local jobs, according to Leigh Curyer, NexGen’s chief executive officer.

“We share with the communities financially as well, and the agreements that we have show that the communities and the company are totally aligned with respect to the sharing of those financial benefits,” said Curyer.

Marlene Hansen, secretary for Métis Nation Saskatchewan, was a part of the consultation process for the past four years and praised the company for meeting the needs of the community.

“We talked about how they’re going to come back and make sure that everything is done and that we could go on the land, and it’s going to be protected. So we know it before it starts, and that’s a good thing,” said Hansen.

“Everybody’s just really excited to get it moving and looking forward to all of the jobs and all of the excitement to come with this project.”

Following the conclusion of the proceedings, the CNSC will consider community, safety and environmental impacts before deciding to grant the project a licence, which could take up to four months. A licence from the CNSC is required before the project can begin.

The proceedings before the CNSC are expected to continue in Saskatoon until its conclusion on Thursday.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.