Yukon government grills Many Rivers over spending

The Yukon government is questioning how Many Rivers Counselling and Support Services used its government funds, saying an investigation revealed "a number of areas of concern."

And until the organization explains, the government says there won't be any more money coming.

"We did a financial review on the agency and there's some questions that came out of that and we've asked the organization to answer those questions," said Karen Chan, assistant deputy minister of corporate services with the department of Health and Social Services.

"We need to make sure that when we're providing funding, that it's done in an accountable way and that we can be sure that the funding was spent where it should be." 

Last week, the territorial government announced in a news release a "new delivery model" for counselling services in Yukon. Many Rivers was out as a service provider, and the Canadian Mental Health Association, All Genders Yukon and the government's Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services branch were in.

That prompted some Many Rivers board members to resign, and say the organization was forced to close its doors.

'We would like an explanation'

A letter sent earlier this month by the department of Health and Social Services to then president of the Many Rivers board explains some of the government's concerns.

"Although Many Rivers has a new board, this board must assume responsibility for the actions of the previous board as the organization has remained the same," wrote Stephen Samis, deputy minister in the department, on Aug. 9. 

Samis asks how the government's last transfer payment to Many Rivers was used. He points to the investigation that found several blown budgets and questionable payments — including a 20.5 per cent wage increase for Many Rivers' executive director, as well as fees paid to the Paris School of Business for someone's doctorate program in business administration (tuition for that three-year program is more than $46,000).  

"We would like an explanation," Samis wrote.

Samis also asks how Many Rivers plans to pay off its debts, and whether it would use government money to do that. A former board member told CBC earlier this week that Many Rivers owes over $200,000. According to Samis, Many Rivers' unaudited financial statements indicated $519,368 in accounts receivable — in other words, money that was expected to come from government.   

According to Samis's letter, Many Rivers went way over budget in several areas, without offering an explanation or seeking approval from the government.

In some cases, expenses were more than double what was budgeted. For example, the organization went 115 per cent over budget on bookkeeping contracts, and 436 per cent over-budget on a snow removal contract.

"We don't have the answers. We've asked the questions and it's important that we get those answers," Chan said.

Storage of confidential files

Samis's letter also questions why Many Rivers still retained leased vehicles and rental offices in communities where they're no longer needed. He wrote that the government agreed to pay rent for Many Rivers' Whitehorse office "as an emergency measure," so there was a place to store confidential files.

"We would like to know why the files were not brought there," he wrote.

It's not clear yet where Many Rivers' client files will ultimately go, if the organization is no longer operating. Yukon Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod-McKay says Many Rivers remains in control of them, until they might be transferred to a "successor custodian" — for example, another counselling service.

"The most important thing is that Many Rivers is communicating with individuals as to what is occurring with their information, so individuals are not left trying to figure out who now has the custody or control of their personal health information," McLeod-McKay said.

"Even if the information were to transfer to a successor custodian, individuals may not know who that is."