Nation-wide interview with Nelson Bird on "Indigenous Circle." (photo from CTV/APTN)
Chapter Four: The SIGA Scandal
On Monday, June 19, I was working at Footlocker when my manager called me to the phone. My wife was on the line and she told me Regina Leader Post reporter James Parker wanted me to call him. I jotted down the number, then took a break to call him back. Both of our moms knew each other from attending the same church when we were kids, but this was the first time he had called me as a reporter. Upon answering his phone, James apologized for interrupting me at work. He said he wanted my comments on a story he was covering. He explained that an annual audit of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority's (SIGA) board revealed $360,000 in unauthorized spending by its CEO Dutch Lerat. (SIGA managed casinos in Prince Albert, North Battleford, Yorton, and near Carlyle on behalf of FSIN.) The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority had suspended Lerat's gaming registration and was demanding the SIGA board appoint a new CEO or face the possibility of being shut down. However, FSIN Chief Perry Bellegarde was refusing to fire Lerat, claiming the province had no jurisdiction. What did I think of the situation?
The province's liquor and gaming authority had final say over the budgets of the four Indian-run casinos; Lerat's fiscal unaccountability was unacceptable. Continuing to endorse his appointment on grounds of sovereignty was bad public relations- Lerat should have been replaced yesterday. "The FSIN is suffering from delusions of grandeur," I blurted out. I added, "This whole notion of statehood and sovereignty is not advancing their popularity among Saskatchewan people generally and native people as well. This aggressive approach is turning a lot of people off. It's time for them to wake up and smell the coffee." James thanked me for my comments and I went on to resume working my shift.
The next morning, my comments appeared at the end of James Parker's article, which was front-page news in Regina and Saskatoon. I didn't think much of it. I was certain the FSIN would solve the crisis. I read how they increased Lerat's tax-free salary to more than $500,000 to cover his debt, which reminded me of problems on my reserve. Our former chief, Gabriel Gopher, caused quite a scandal himself when he ran up close to $500,000 in traveling expenses one year. Regardless of jurisdiction, which could be handed over to third-party management when the government found it necessary, First Nations organizations had to be accountable in their spending habits. A number of reserves were experiencing fiscal crises brought to light by government audits.
My phone started to ring early that morning with supporters urging me to tell it like it is. One friend sent me an email that read: “I might not always agree with you about the need for a First Nations Party, but I totally agree with your stance on this issue.” I began to think about Leonard Iron's desire to see the First Nations Party work to create greater accountability within our governments. I issued a press release titled, "Spending spree must stop." In addition to Lerat's raise and my chief's travelling, I questioned why "with thousands of dollars being spent here, there, and everywhere," the FSIN could afford to by a table from the Sask Party but not from the First Nations Party. My computer faxed press releases to over a hundred numbers and the interview requests poured in.
I did a number of phone interviews, then appeared live on CKRM's morning talk show where I stated my position on the matter and took callers' questions about the party. I met James Parker at the legislature that morning and he told me there would be an FSIN press conference the next day at the Landmark Inn. Until then, he would do some investigating to confirm whether the FSIN had, indeed, bought a table from the Sask Party, who they accused of conducting a witch-hunt. (James found it hard to believe at first but would report that SIGA had bought a four hundred-dollar table.)
Wednesday morning my wife dropped me off at the Landmark Inn to check out the FSIN press conference. I sat in the front row and watched as Chief Bellegarde announced that SIGA would, indeed, replace Dutch Lerat as CEO and consent to a provincial audit of its spending. Although I watched him intently throughout his announcement, Chief Bellegarde never made eye contact with me. The press conference ended with communications director Darcy McKenzie stepping in when reporters pressed Chief Bellegarde on when, exactly, he knew about the problems at SIGA. With the formal announcement over, I was asked again by James Parker for a comment. "I think the public perception will be that the FSIN has made its decision based on the public outcry of the last seven days. If the decision had been made last week, in a responsible manner, the credibility and the integrity of the FSIN would not have been harmed," I stated. Many people I talked to after the press conference felt the same way.
On Thursday, June 22, James Parker's Leader Post article, "SIGA Agreement eases tensions with province," ended, once again, with my remarks. I was working at Footlocker that day so I checked it out during one of my breaks. In addition to Parker's article, the Saskatoon Star Phoenix published a letter to the editor by Leonard Iron questioning Chief Bellegarde's handling of the situation. Leonard mentioned the First Nations Coalition for Accountability and the First Nations Party as organizations he believed should step out and gain both exposure and credibility over the issue. ("If ever there was an issue that the fledgling First Nations Party of Saskatchewan could cut its teeth on, this is it.") I was happy the party was mentioned.
The next day I checked out the paper, again, on a break because FNP supporter David Clinton called from Mistatum very upset over a Saskatoon column by Doug Cuthand. Cuthand slammed me for criticizing the FSIN. Because I was working, I was unwilling to have Dave recite the whole article to me over the phone, so I promised him I'd check it out and respond. Cuthand's article, however, wasn't published in Regina until after the weekend, so I bought a Saskatoon Star Phoenix at the Hotel Saskatchewan after work. As my wife drove me down Hamilton Street, I giggled with delight as I read Cuthand's article to her. The headline, "FSIN Faces hard work to restore SIGA credibility," was accurate enough, but Cuthand went on: "And then there’s Brendan Cross, the self-appointed leader of the First Nations Party of Saskatchewan, who shot himself in the foot. His chances of a political future came to an end with his criticism of the FSIN, when he said it had delusions of grandeur and caved in under pressure. If you plan to lead a First Nations party in this province, you have to respect the established organizations. Remember his name, it might be an answer for a trivia question some day. Time to renew your Saskatchewan Party membership, Brendan." I never knew a couple quotes could garner so much attention! Thus began my love/hate relationship with Doug Cuthand. (I loved him; He hated me.)
I went home and wrote what I thought was a clever rebuttal. I stated I had no plans to compromise my values and principles of telling the truth accurately "to impress some oppressed Native journalist." (I've never felt oppressed.) Cuthand said my name would be trivia so I ended my letter by stating: "When future generations play Trivial Pursuit fifty years from now, they certainly won't be remembering that Doug guy's name." My rebuttal was published on Canada Day and was accompanied by a letter by David Clinton's wife, Trudy, who called me "a blessing." I felt encouraged- I was enjoying my job, people were getting involved in the party, I had over half the required signatures, and our second baby's due date was approaching fast. But as I would soon learn, things can change at a moment's notice.
Both my sister-in-law and I worked for Footlocker, at two different locations. And both my sister-in-law and I were fired from Footlocker, by two different bosses. To this day, I don't know whether our firings were related. All I know is I was told my performance was lacking. While my sales targets were being sufficiently met, my obsession with the party was always a distraction while I was on the job. Customers would recognize me from the news and I would embark on a sermonette about how the First Nations Party was going to change the world. Initially, I comforted myself by viewing my job loss as an opportunity to collect more signatures. I wasn't prepared for the depression that followed, though.
Within days of losing my job, my wife went into labour with our second child, my first daughter. I was incredibly depressed, so much so that I was irritable when I took my son to the hospital the next morning to meet his new sister. I was delighted to have a new daughter but it seemed that was the only joy in my life at that point. I began sleeping all day, and staying up all night- a terrible lifestyle for someone with bi-polar depression. Looking back, I see that had I not been fired, I wouldn't have been present to help my wife through labour. I also see that the opportunity to rescue my daughter when she would wake up crying in the night allowed my wife to get more sleep and created touching memories for me that sad summer.
On Tuesday, July 18, Rick Mofina reported in the Edmonton Journal that native groups in British Columbia were threatening to run a candidate against Stockwell Day, who had just won the leadership of the new Canadian Alliance. Day was running in a by-election for a seat in the House of Commons and BC Natives were recognizing that, with the right amount of organization, they could potentially pose a threat to Day at the ballot box. I was encouraged to see that my optimism about potential electoral success was shared two provinces away and curious about why Day was enraging so many social groups. As a member of the Alliance, I decided to haunt some of his Regina meetings to see if I could talk to him.
Day came to Regina that summer to give a speech at the IMAX Science Center so I went with Jeff Lowey, who helped me with First Nations Party communications. While Day was taking questions from reporters, I walked up beside him and asked, "Under your leadership, would the Canadian Alliance be willing to re-examine their aboriginal policy?" Day assured me that he and his policy team would examine their policies to adequately address aboriginal issues. Jeff and I were happy he made that pledge, so we returned to the hot dogs and cake to meet new people and have a good lunch. I didn't know my exchange with Day was a foreshadow of things to come.
I spent many hours that summer going door to door in Regina's poorest neighbourhoods. There I would see first-hand the living conditions those in poverty were facing. This was a new experience for me; I had never walked through Moccasin Flats before. Enthusiasm for the First Nations Party was indeed greatest in the inner city, where peoples' eyes would light up when I told about my vision. More than once, I was invited into peoples' homes to meet their friends and families or to share whatever they were eating. More than once, though, I was told there was no hope and I should give up while I was ahead. My bi-polar depression would be triggered and I would sleep all day, then awaken as darkness fell to run out and get more signatures. I would cry and contemplate suicide after seeing so many beautiful people struggle in poverty.
Both my wife's family and mine were encouraging me to find work to support my family. We were still living off her student loans and I viewed my door-to-door canvassing as my life's purpose. I spent the first week of August at Buffalo Days gathering signatures at the entrances of Regina's Exhibition Park. I even resorted to gambling to make some money to take my wife to a concert she wanted to see. (Fortunately, I never win when I gamble; We missed the concert.) I was getting close to the 2,000 signature mark, however, so that kept my spirits up. I met a lot of people who knew me from television and that, too, gave me some sense of recognition and acceptance.
On Thursday, August 3rd, a National Parole Board panel unanimously approved day parole for Alex Ternowetsky. He and his friend, Steven Kummerfield, were convicted in 1996 of manslaughter after beating 28-year-old Pamela George to death. George was aboriginal, poor, and sometimes worked the streets. Ternowetsky, who was nineteen when the crime occurred, was white and grew up in a middle-class, Anglican family, much like myself. I knew him because we had gotten into a vicious fight the summer before he killed Pamela George. (One of two fights I ever fought, I resorted to grabbing him by the hair and smashing his face into the ground. I helped him find his glasses and clean himself up afterwards.) I felt bad that everyone's lives were affected so drastically by what he had done.
Just before supper, I got back from Buffalo Days and the phone rang. It was Mike O'Brien from the Leader Post, wondering if I had any comments on Ternowetsky's parole. I prepared a statement and faxed it to him: "The days of life in prison for killing somebody are over- at least for those who co-operate with the justice system. This can only be positive if it applies equally to aboriginal people who are convicted of similar offences." I didn't want to get involved in the racial aspects of the crime itself- that was not the news of the day. The news was Ternowetsky’s parole, which I was certain was not influenced by any racial factor. There were enough comments made by others about the impact his parole would have on George's family.
Being recognized as a spokesman for aboriginal people, at least by those who joined my party, really gave me a sense of satisfaction. I knew that my views represented myself more than anyone else, but my whole goal of creating the party was "to provide a platform by which aboriginal issues could be addressed." James Parker phoned to ask me my views on the upcoming FSIN elections. He asked me first whether I was planning on running and I assured him I was not. When asked what effect the SIGA scandal might have on the election, I said some people were embarrassed by it, while others were proud the chief stood up to the province. I called it "an election of extremes." "There are a lot of people who want change. But there are a lot of other people who are quite impressed with Bellegarde." (Looking back, I realize I should have addressed him as Chief Bellegarde, not just by his last name- something I have remembered ever since.) He was re-elected.
