Corruption masquerading as generosity

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/06/2011 (5425 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The other day I was flipping through the paper and came across a story about the Virginia Fontaine Treatment Centre scandal. Let me refresh your memory.

The Virginia Fontaine Treatment Centre is in Sagkeeng First Nation, about a one-hour drive northeast of Winnipeg. In 2000, Perry Fontaine — the centre’s director — was suspected of being involved in misuse of $3 million worth of Health Canada funds earmarked for the treatment centre.

Fontaine was convicted of stealing the money in 2009, and some expensive jewelry was auctioned off last week to recoup some of the stolen money.

It was a huge scandal that put the treatment centre in a bad light. It’s too bad, because it is a good place.

Back in the early ’90s my boyfriend and I would go stay with his mother on the Sagkeeng reserve. It was just called Fort Alex back then and still is by most locals.

My boyfriend’s mom worked at the treatment centre. One time while we were visiting she invited us to a staff and family barbecue.

I’d never been to the treatment centre before, but had driven by the building many times. We were happy because it was a hot day — perfect barbecue weather.

We walked to the back of the building and I’m sure my eyes got big. This was no small get-together with some hotdogs and a few bowls of potato salad.

It was the most amazing barbecue I’d ever seen.

There were several long tables, all with food stacked on them. A big barbeque was hard at work, having spilled out a variety of steaks, ribs, chicken, smokies and hotdogs. There were drinks of every kind, and even real chilled orange juice.

It felt so decadent. It was like I’d walked onto the set of the old TV show Dallas and we were filming a good, old Texas-style barbecue at the Southfork Ranch. All that was missing was J.R. Ewing and some 10-gallon hats.

People were milling around the grounds, staff and their families, all with big smiles. Everyone was having the time of their lives.

Kids were running around, going over to the dessert area where the hot-ticket item was ice cream scooped out of huge restaurant-size tubs.

Wow, this must be what it’s like to be rich, I remember thinking.

And for some weird reason, every time I hear about that treatment centre I think back to that barbecue.

Over the years I’ve been to many company barbecues, but nothing of the same grandeur. Generosity is a big part of our culture. When you have plenty, you are supposed give plenty to others.

But what happened at that treatment centre is troubling, and not just because a bunch of money that was supposed to help people with addictions was stolen.

What’s really troubling is so many people didn’t understand that what was going on was wrong in the first place. And it happens in other aboriginal communities, too.

Sometimes we just don’t know any better, so it continues for years.

There’s also no handbook for people who grew up poor, with a limited education, and suddenly become responsible for multimillion-dollar budgets.

It’s part of why some corruption happens in the first place. Then, those who do figure out something might be amiss take big risks if they decide to speak up about it.

By all accounts there wasn’t anything wrong with that barbecue at the treatment centre. But they say it’s a slippery slope. Does a barbecue with all the fixings turn into a free trip to the Caribbean over the course of several years?

Maybe the corruption started in very little ways, over time. Small things were overlooked and then it just steamrolled until there was no way to stop it.

I also wonder where were the safeguards every organization should have to protect its finances. Certainly, lessons have been learned since then.

Colleen Simard is a Winnipeg writer.

colleen.simard@gmail.com