Former FSIN chief calls out ‘atrocious’ misspending, org. ordered to repay $29M

A former chief at the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan said the way it's treating federal funds is akin to 'organized crime.'

A former Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) vice chief says what’s happening at the organization is a failure of its people and nothing short of criminal.

Bob Merasty, once the second vice-chief at FSIN and former chief of Flying Dust First Nation, says learning the FSIN was ordered to repay the federal government nearly $29 million for ineligible or unsupported expenses makes him feel the traditional values of the organization and its people are being ignored.

“This has been an absolute atrocious violation by our leaders, of our people. I hate to use the word, but it’s organized crime,” he said.

“What has happened is those mechanisms for accountability and transparency we’ve put in place have been manipulated and bypassed.”

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On Friday, a review of a forensic audit was provided to the Band Members Alliance and Advocacy Association of Canada by a whistleblower and shared online, detailing line-by-line misspending.

The forensic audit performed by KMPG last year reviewed spending from 2019 to 2024. A summary report published in September 2025 found over $34 million in questionable, ineligible or unsupported spending.

A letter from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) dated March 12 addressed to FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron and CEO Martin Paul said the findings demonstrate “significant, systemic issues in FSIN’s financial management, recordkeeping practices and adherence to the terms and conditions of the terms and conditions of ISC funding.”

Merasty says chiefs across the province have yet to hear an explanation from the FSIN about the audit.

“Our leaders have not acknowledged that they owe an explanation to our people,” he said. “This is their money — the money that would go into COVID.”

COVID-19 expenditures were the largest line items in the review. Of the more than $23 million in COVID-19 related funding, a number of multi-million-dollar purchases of personal protective equipment meant to be delivered to First Nations were listed as either untraced or no documentation was provided to prove they arrived at their destination.

Another heading details the number of new fleet vehicles purchased. More than $1.3 million was ineligible or unsupported. A closer examination reveals 21 new fleet vehicles were purchased between 2020 and 2023.

Seven of these vehicles — typically costing between $60,000 and $77,000 — were purchased for an unknown person while executive leadership at FSIN had their vehicles replaced in October 2023 after originally purchasing the vehicles in March 2022.

The review says “the blending of ISC funding with revenue from other sources in FSIN financials complicated the review process and obscured the exact source of funds in certain cases.”

Merasty says what worries him is FSIN gets funding from other places, and he worries what audits from those providers would discover.

“When you talk about $34 million, it’s substantially north of that,” Merasty said.

“And we say, why has this been allowed to happen?”

The FSIN has until April 2 to dispute the claims of the audit and provide detailed documentation and supporting documents.

CTV News has attempted to reach the FSIN and its chief for comment on the audit.

Chief Bobby Cameron spoke to some reporters Monday morning, but CTV News, CBC and others were excluded from attending.