Quebec Crown Prosecutor declines to Prosecute: Housing Scandal
Written by Jeremy Zafran on 3 November 2022
The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake held a major news conference this afternoon addressing the criminal investigation in the Housing department. The Crown Prosecutor will not be proceeding with any prosecution of the Housing Unit’s scandal that cost the MCK $695 000 dollars. Ratitsénhaienhs Onerahtókha Karlie Marquis is the MCK’s Executive Director:
“It is unfortunate, but the Crown ultimately determined that the administrative issues within the Housing and Accounting Departments would make it difficult to secure a conviction. Nonetheless we are extremely pleased with the efforts of the Kahnàwake Peacekeepers Investigators who had invested the last several years on this case, who aimed to ensure that those responsible were held accountable for their actions.”
The story first broke in June 2018 when several families received threats of eviction notices for non-payment of rent or mortgages. Ratitsénhaienhs Ryan Montour is the Housing Unit Portfolio Lead:
“My countless interaction with community members, who were brave and courageous, sharing their stories of pain and anger that was instilled upon them from an organization that was supposed to help them, many tears were shed throughout this process as we are all humans. We’re taking ownership of the role that the Housing Department and Accounting played in this, for this I will take the opportunity now to apologize for the Office of the Council of Chiefs, we are truly sorry to each and everyone of you.”
An audit found that the money that allegedly went missing from the Housing Unit at the MCK was over a period of 10 years, resulting in the scandal breaking in the summer of 2018.
