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ti3iill'ir'Jr,iä:ii3ål.3l:

December 24,2018

Métis NatíonalCouncil

- 340 McLaren Street,
Ottawa, ON
4

K2P OM6

Dear Ms. Watteyne
I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated December It,2018 as well as three binders containing
information relating to the sample of transactions selected by EY for 2O15-2OL6Io ZOIT-2018.

As we discussed when we

first met in August 2018, the Department received allegations involving
departmental funding provided to Métis National Council. The issues that were brought to our
attention concerned the procurement of professional services and the reimbursement of expenditures
which may have resulted in Departmentalfunding being used for ineligible expenditures. As a result, in
accordance with Section 1L,0 through 11.1 of the Funding Agreement, we agreed with MNC to conduct
a fínancial review for the three-year period 2OLS-201,6 to 20L7-2OtB.
With respect to your request for the disclosure of the allegation, we are unable to provide further
details' Allegations are obtained confidentially and disclosing detailed information may compromise the
identìty of the complainants. Therefore, it can be considered as a breach of the Privacy Act and can have
an impact on the ongoing review.
The objective of the review is to determine whether the MNC is operating in accordance with the

financialterms and conditions of the funding agreements, and the scope

is

for 2015-2016 to 20i.7-20i.8,
Thesample

Therehavebeennochangestothescopeofthereviewfromthebeginningofourwork.

size and the requests for clarification were consistent with the work EY has been requested to conduct.

We appreciate the level of effort required to gatherthe information being requested. We understand
EY has communicated its willingness to attend at your offices to gather the documentation required
to complete their work including examining the documentation on site in order to facilitate the review
and ease the burden placed on MNC staff.

that

Canadid

 We appreciate the cooperation demonstrated by MNC in the work conducted so far, and we look
forward to your continued collaboration with the Department and EY in finalizing the review.
Sincerely,

,////

/t

A

//t-

Jean-Marc Lafrenière
Director, Assessment and lnvestigation Seruices Branch
Audit and Evaluation Sector

c.c. David Chartrand, Minister of Finance
David Peckham, Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive