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<\/p>\nTwo of five candidates running for chief at Little Grand Rapids First Nation are locked in court battle ahead of the Dec. 23 election, involving allegations of vote buying and misuse of band funds.<\/p>\n
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Little Grand Rapids is a fly-in Anishinaabe community of 1,800 near the Manitoba-Ontario border, 370 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Oliver Owen, who was chief from 2021 to 2023, is suing Clinton Keeper for defamation. Keeper defeated Owen in a 2023 election and was chief until council was dissolved at the end of November ahead of the current campaign period..<\/p>\n
In a statement of claim filed on Nov. 5, Owen says Keeper \u201crepeatedly and publicly stated\u2026 that I stole money from the band and used band funds to purchase airplanes\u2026 these statements are false, malicious and damaging to my personal and professional reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owen owns Amik Aviation. Court documents say Keeper alleged that Owen used band funds to benefit Amik.<\/p>\n
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A 2023 forensic audit by Meyers Norris Penny (MNP) included in Owen\u2019s statement of claim determined Amik Aviation had been properly compensated for legitimate services to the fly-in community and that payments were made prior to Owen being chief in November 2021 so \u201cwe do not consider this payment a conflicted of interest,\u201d the auditors wrote.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tOliver Owen is suing a rival candidate for chief of Little Grand Rapids, saying he was defamed by Clinton Keeper.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tAmik Aviation\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
In a statement of defence filed on Dec. 1, Keeper alleges \u201ccountless community members\u201d were \u201cconcerned\u201d that band money was being spent on Amik Aviation in \u201cwhat seemed to be a monopoly held by Oliver.\u201d Keeper denies defaming Owen.<\/p>\n
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The audit, ordered by the band, looked into transactions from one of the band\u2019s bank accounts between April 2018 and December 2021. The account contains revenues from the band\u2019s partial ownership of the South Beach Casino, just outside of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
The audit found about $8 million went into that account and about $8 million went out including \u201cpayments to the parties of interest which were unapproved or unsupported total $1.6 million.\u201d The parties of interest were on council during the audit period.<\/p>\n
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Topping the list, according to the audit, at nearly $585,000 including $38,000 in honorariums. Owen received $3,000 for an honorarium that the audit found was unsupported or unapproved. Neither has explained in court filings why.<\/p>\n
Auditors noted the $1.6 million in unsupported or unapproved payments were in addition to almost $3 million paid to the same people for salaries and expenses, from the band\u2019s main account. That account was not part of the audit.<\/p>\n
Timothy Fry, Keeper\u2019s lawyer, says his client disputes the audit findings and was never interviewed by auditors. He also says three witnesses told auditors there was supporting documentation for expenses.<\/p>\n
The audit found 86 per cent of payments out the account in question, were in even dollar amounts including 125 payments of $1,000, 89 $2,000 payments, 69 $3,000 and 69 $5,000 payments.<\/p>\n
During a two month period in 2022 nearly $58,000 was taken from the account, 95 per cent of the 42 cheques only had one signature not the required two. MNP couldn\u2019t confirm who signed the cheques but the audit says \u201cinterviewees told us the cheque book which included the cheques was in Clinton Keeper\u2019s possession.\u201d<\/p>\n
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