Finance questions after long wait in Kanesatake

Hamilton Spectator

09-05-2025

The Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) audited financial statements for the 2023-2024 fiscal year are now available, but the community's finances remain somewhat opaque, even after several months of delays.
MCK chief John Canatonquin, the lead on the finance portfolio, said the number that stuck out to him most was the amount of deferred revenue, which climbed from about $12.5 million to nearly $16.7 million. This goes in the liabilities column, meaning it is factored into the balance sheet as debt, for a total debt of $7.8 million, compared to $6.9 million last year.
Deferred revenue is money received by the MCK that it did not spend, the lion's share of which comes from ISC funding.
'For me, it's not a debt. We have the money. It's just we didn't spend it,' said Canatonquin.
'Remove the deferred revenue and it's not a debt. We don't have any debt,' he said.
Why so much was not spent is not clear, according to Canatonquin.
'Most of it was caused because of the COVID,' he said. 'The people didn't spend the money.'
Now it will be necessary to meet with each department to untangle the situation, he said.
'We have to talk to each department to make sure they spend the money, so everything will be good by next year,' he said. However, since this is only being reviewed now, he said, the departmental ambiguities are not expected to be remediated in the audited financial statements for 2024-2025, which are due July 29.
'When we go through to each department and have the money spent accordingly to each department, we should be perfect. We should be good. If it's a deficit, we should be small or a small surplus,' he said.
'For me, what's bothering me now is the deferred revenue, and also the way they were doing it in finance where they go with the global amount instead of going per department. Now they are supposed to switch to follow by department. That way we'll have no problem after that,' he said.
It's possible the housing and infrastructure department is in deficit, he said. 'They maybe overspent. I noticed in finance, they see the global amount, okay they have so much money in the global, but they don't go per department. That's the problem.
'You don't have the money, you don't spend it. If you need more money, you go and get it. Get the money and then you spend it. Simple,' he said.
Some notable figures in the statements include a $537,570 deficit, compared to a surplus of more than $1 million the year before, and nearly $500,000 in legal fees, more than $200,000 compared to the year before. The Infrastructure Public Works program expenses more than doubled to $870,624, while Crime Prevention went up to $968,494 from $210,160.
One outstanding question is the source of an $800,000 cancellation in government funding as compared to $0 the year before, for which Canatonquin did not have an answer readily available.
Missing reports
In addition to the publicly available financial statements, The Eastern Door has obtained a 'Notification of Reporting Requirements Report' from December 2024, which shows at that time a total of 25 overdue reports across at least eight departments, 24 of those more than six months overdue. The majority of these are attributable to Community Infrastructure, with 13 reports 'deemed unobtainable.'
The result? $388,288 of funding at risk, according to the documents.
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) would not confirm with The Eastern Door how many reports are outstanding or how much money is at risk, but did provide some clarity on the department's policies.
'All funding agreements include reporting requirements, which are outlined in the terms and conditions of each agreement,' said Jennifer Cooper, spokesperson for ISC.
'The term 'unobtainable' is used to describe the status of any report that is not received by the department within 180 calendar days of its due date. Despite this status, the terms and conditions of the agreement must still be met. When reporting is overdue, ISC may hold back some portion of program funding to recipients until the report is received.
'Each month, written notice is sent to recipients if they have outstanding reports. Held-back funding is released to the recipient after the report is received,' she said.
Timelines
The First Nations Financial Transparency Act requires a First Nation's financial statements to be submitted to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) within 120 days of the fiscal year, which ends March 31, for a July 29 deadline, but 2019 is the last time the statements were on track.
This year, the statements were posted on March 24, 2025, nearly a year after the end of the 2023-2024 fiscal period. In comparison, Kahnawake's financial statements for the same period were posted by ISC on September 4, 2024. There is a delay between ISC's receipt of the documents and their appearance online, however.
Along with the audited financial statements, the schedule of remuneration and expenses for MCK chiefs was also published. Canatonquin, Amy Beauvais, Valerie Bonspille, Denise David, Brant Etienne, and Serge Otsi Simon were all paid a salary of $67,649 in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with Victor Bonspille receiving $75,439 in remuneration as grand chief.
Beauvais incurred the highest expenses in that period, with $5,737, and Etienne the least – $354. Victor Bonspille's expenses totalled $3,502, according to the document.
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Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter