ASHLEY GABOURY
CUP Central Bureau Chief

WINNIPEG (CUP) — Despite allegations of misspending at the First Nations University of Canada and the possibility of losing provincial funding, Saskatchewan’s advanced education minister says the school’s students can rest assured that they will be able to complete their degrees.

The province has begun to withhold funding from the school, which became embroiled in controversy after its former chief financial officer Murray Westerlund made claims of misspending at the Regina-based institution.

“These are very, very disturbing, disappointing, unsettling allegations,” said Advanced Education Minister Rob Norris. “We’ve got to get to the bottom of this. We have to do that especially for the students and behalf of taxpayers in Saskatchewan.”

While the school is now in “significant jeopardy” in terms of keeping its $250,000 per month funding from Saskatchewan, Norris said he is currently in conversation with a number of stakeholders of FNUC, including the University of Regina, of which FNUC is a federated college.

“I’ve asked if they have contingency plans in place should they be needed to help ensure the success of students at (FNUC)…. As part of our due diligence, I wanted to ensure that the University of Regina would be ready to act, and I was given that reassurance,” said Norris.

If FNUC were to lose its provincial funding, Norris said the future existence of the university would depend on the actions of the other funding contributors.

“There are other funding partners — in fact, the federal government contributes more than the provincial government. It would depend on what other funding partners would consider.”

According to documents obtained by students and a number of news outlets, Westerlund made claims of misspending at the Regina-based institution.

CBC has reported that in the documents Westerlund said that the university’s funding was misused, with thousands of dollars in annual leave paid out as cash to senior administrators in the last four years, including $98,000 to school president Charles Pratt.

Westerlund’s documents also noted questionable staff trips to Hawaii, Las Vegas and Montreal, as well as concerns over $2.57 million spent on a teepee built on the Regina FNUC campus. CBC reported that the documents said that First Nations veterans and others were paid $216,000 to review project plans and “monitor progress.”

According to minister Norris, the FNUC audit committee is currently investigating the situation.

“That’s going to help us get to the bottom of this,” said Norris.

In response to student outcry over the allegations of misspending at FNUC, Norris said he is scheduled to speak with students about their concerns.

“They’ve expressed their outrage and their anger. I want to listen. I really want to hear from the students about what they’re feeling and also offer them reassurance that they’re not alone, that they have a lot of allies.”

“Our university is facing financial challenges and it is disturbing to hear that university dollars are being misused while our departments are facing cuts,” said Cadmus Delorme, the FNUC students’ association vice-president, in a press release.

Jim Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, speculates that if the province withdraws funding, FNUC “is going to collapse. Canada is going to lose its only First Nations institution.”

“It was on its way to being the best First Nations institution in North America before all these bad things started happening,” said Turk. “They just keep getting worse and no one’s been willing to take responsibility for it.”

Problems at the school in the past have not gone unnoticed. CAUT censured the school in 2008 after numerous governance issues that had arisen since 2005.

“When we determine that a university administration has really violated basic principles of basic governance, we censure them,” said Turk. “This means we ask people not to take jobs there. We ask people not to participate in conferences or any events sponsored by the institution.

“It’s been 30 years since we’ve had to censure anyone.”

Turk called it “a really sad situation,” saying that FNUC was a great idea.

“A lot of First Nations students come straight from their home communities (and) haven’t lived anywhere else so it provides a different alternative for First Nations students and others,” he said.

In a press release from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations earlier this week, Chief Guy Lonechild said that he would not support any decision that does not allow FNUC students to finish their classes this year or complete their degrees in the future.

“I want to thank the students for sharing their concerns regarding the administrative affairs of the First Nations University of Canada. As the chief of the FSIN, I agree fully with the need for ”˜Indian control of Indian education,’ ” wrote Lonechild.

“My primary concern and that of other stakeholders is to ensure that our students are not put at risk. They have worked too hard and offer so much hope for the future. We cannot fail them now.”

Westerlund forwarded memos of his findings to the FUNC audit committee in late November of last year and left the school a few days after. He is currently suing the school for wrongful dismissal.

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Daryl Mitchell