Former Attawapiskat Co-manager, Kennedy, to Face Fraud Charges

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The former co-manager of Attawapiskat First Nation, Clayton Kennedy, has been charged with offences including fraud and theft over $5,000 for writing a $51,000 cheque. The charges were enlisted on a charge sheet filed March 27 by Det.-Const. Trevor Martin of the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service.

According to the court document, the fraud “by writing a cheque” took place in Attawapiskat on or about Aug. 28, 2012, and that the stolen money belonged to the Attawapiskat First Nation. 62-year-old Kennedy worked as the co-manager of the northern Ontario band’s finances from July 2010 till the end of the summer of 2012. Kennedy is the partner of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence. Currently, Kennedy is also the co-manager of Taykwa Tagamou Nation, in Cochrane, Ont. As per rules, Co-management is the middle level of intervention by the federal government in order to improve a First Nation’s financial situation. A co-manager is agreed upon by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the band council, who is then paid by the band.

Previously, Kennedy has been in the limelight during Attawapiskat’s housing crisis in 2011, when several sources questioned about the band’s financial books, and later in 2012 when an external audit found a troubling lack of financial documentation. Both Mr. Kennedy and Attawapiskat officials were unreachable on Monday night. In addition to that, the Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt’s office was not immediately available for comments. Kennedy is now set to appear in court in Attawapiskat on May 28.