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Theresa Spence (born 1963) is the current chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation in Canada. She is a prominent figure in the Attawapiskat housing and infrastructure crisis, Idle No More, and other First Nations issues. Prior to serving as chief, she was the deputy chief of Attawapiskat. ==Attawapiskat housing and infrastructure crisis== As chief of Attawapiskat, Spence oversees a $31.2 million annual operating budget. According to the most recent census, Attawapiskat has 1,549 people living on reserve.〔 The Attawapiskat reserve has been the subject of several state of emergency announcements by Spence in recent years, due to the reserve's poor housing conditions. The announcements have received national media coverage. On October 28, 2011, Spence called a state of emergency for the third time in three years. On December 30, 2012, a spokesperson for the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs stated that by the end of 2012-13, the federal government will have spent $131 million on the Attawapiskat reserve since 2006, including the construction of 60 new and renovated houses and a new school. Controversy has grown around the question of how the money received from the federal government is spent by the reserve's own government. Detailed financial records have not been made public to reserve residents or to the media; some residents of the reserve refused to discuss the matter with media, saying that they feared repercussions. The De Beers company, which owns a diamond mine nearby and employs around 60 residents of the reserve full-time, has donated trailers for housing to the reserve in the past. The Attawapiskat reserve's government receives a payment from De Beers, but Spence has declined to say how much or how it is spent.〔 Grand Chief Stan Louttit has criticized media coverage of the Attawapiskat reserve finances for misconstruing the true cost of living in remote locations such as Attawapiskat, which is significantly higher than more populated areas in southern regions of Canada. The Attawapiskat band council agreed to a comprehensive audit, the results of which are pending review by the Aboriginal Affairs Department and Health Canada. Attawapiskat had been placed under third party management by the federal government following the state of emergency declared by Spence in 2011. However, this arrangement was overturned by a court ruling. A 2012 financial audit commissioned by the Government of Canada for the years found a lack of documentation to account for millions of dollars spent by the Attawapiskat Band Council between 2005 and 2011. When the audit was released to the public, Spence responded by accusing Canada of acting in bad faith. Other First Nations leaders, however, were critical of Spence’s fiscal mismanagement as indefensible and undermining reserves that followed proper bookkeeping. The audit primarily covered the years prior to Spence becoming Chief. Spence's combined salary and travel expenses amount to more than $71,000. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Theresa Spence」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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