Feds probe case of native addictions worker charged with liquor offence

Health Canada is deciding how to deal with an addictions worker on the Pauingassi First Nation who was charged several weeks ago with illegally transporting dozens of bottles of alcohol to the dry reserve.

The addictions worker, Nancy Keeper, admits she had 161 bottles of whisky with her when she was stopped by police, but told CBC News the liquor was for personal use, not for bootlegging or resale.

Keeper said she'd just returned from a baseball tournament in Ontario, and the liquor was for a celebration she was planning with 14 friends.

Pauingassi is a dry reserve; it is illegal to bring alcohol into the community.

Federal officials in charge of the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) say they are very concerned about Keeper's situation.

"We will definitely be addressing both the issues with the competence and the ability of the NNADAP worker to perform their tasks, and just overall how our health programs are operating," said Jim Wolfe, head of the First Nations Inuit Health Branch for Health Canada in Manitoba.

Wolfe told CBC News his department will be meeting with band officials at Pauingassi and the reserve's co-managers.

"Pauingassi, quite frankly, is a community that has experienced a variety of crises over the years, and as such, Health Canada puts them on our high-risk list," Wolfe said.

"With this community and also with the co-manager, we've had different programs that have been installed in an attempt to make a difference and unfortunatelynot all of those efforts have paid off."

If the situation with Keeper is not handled to his satisfaction, Wolfe said he may force the band into third-party management, the highest level of outside control.

Recurring liquor offences

Keeper was one of several prominent members of the First Nation who have been charged with or convicted of illegally transporting liquor to the isolated fly-in reserve, located 300 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

Several weeks ago, former chief Joe Owen, who now holds a senior position with the band, was caught with about a dozen bottles of whisky, police said.Owen said the booze was for his personal use.

On May 16, Coun. Robert Owens was convicted of illegally transporting between 60 and 80 bottles of whisky to the reserve and was fined about $1,000.

Owens continues to hold his council seat, though current Chief Harold Crow said he plans to consult with police, his tribal council and people on the First Nation to determine how to handle the situation.

Concerns about conditions on the Pauingassi First Nation resurfaced last week in the wake of the drowning death of a six-year-old boy. Police believe three other children between the ages of seven and nine bullied the child, who could not swim,into the water.

The incident was the third violent death on the reserve in the past 18 months, all involving suspects who were minors.

Over the past year, the community has spent thousands on recreational, cultural and treatment programs to control an epidemic of gas sniffing once thought to affect half of the reserve's children.