At the annual gathering of the Assembly of First Nations lobby group in Ottawa, Treaty 8 Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi reiterated his call for an investigation to be held into alleged American funding or influence in the Alberta independence movement.

He toned down his previous utterances and accusations of treason, but still implied foreign influence in saying, “We are not saying that an act of treason has been committed, but we would like an investigation to be carried out to find out how the separation process is being financed, who is financing it, and who is behind these discussions.”

To date, there has been no credible evidence of foreign funding or control over Alberta’s independence movement. In May, the RCMP looked into allegations of foreign funding of the movement and found no evidence of it.

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Strict fundraising and reporting requirements by Elections Alberta bind third-party advertising organizations campaigning for the upcoming referendum. They are not allowed to accept any funding from outside the province, must maintain a dedicated bank account to track all funding within, and must report their finances every week. Their reports are open to public scrutiny, and every donor of over $250 has their name published on the Elections Alberta website. Foreign funding would be difficult, if not impossible, for these organizations to mask.

Federalist groups that refuse to register as third-party advertisers, such as Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian campaign organization, could be accepting funding from all over the world. They have refused to publicly disclose their sources of income and have spent tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, trying to influence the outcome of the referendum. Mercredi may have a point in calling for an investigation, but is looking at the wrong target.

As the Grand Chief of Treaty 8 nations, Mercredi appears to have overlooked another area of finance that may need investigation. At least six of the Indigenous bands under his purview have refused to prepare and publicly post annual audited consolidated financial statements and a schedule of remuneration/expenses for the chief and councillors according to the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.

Perhaps the Grand Chief would be better served to call for some investigations within his own backyard before concerning himself with the activities of legally registered, compliant third-party advertisers participating in a democratic exercise.