Yukon scandal: Grocery money used to build houses
Broadcast Date: Oct. 3, 1965
He's now a convicted criminal, but many think he's a hero. Former Indian agent Bill Grant diverted nearly $70,000 from a relief fund meant to buy groceries into housing and economic development grants for First Nations people living in his Yukon district. Scandalized by the poverty he saw upon his arrival in the Yukon and unable to get funds through the proper channels, Grant took matters into his own hands. It cost him everything, but when Seven Days interviewer Jack Webster asks, "would you do it again?" Grant doesn't flinch: "I would, Jack. I couldn't do elsewise."Yukon scandal: Grocery money used to build houses
• The federal department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development was created in 1966. Prior to becoming its own ministry, the Indian Affairs portfolio fell under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.• During this period, many First Nations children were placed in residential schools against the wishes of their parents and their community. For more information, please visit the CBC Digital Archives topic A Lost Heritage: Canada's Residential Schools.
Yukon scandal: Grocery money used to build houses
Medium: Television
Program: This Hour has Seven Days
Broadcast Date: Oct. 3, 1965
Guest(s): Bill Grant
Host: Patrick Watson
Interviewer: Jack Webster
Duration: 12:29
Last updated:
April 1, 2008
Yukon scandal: Grocery money used to build houses.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: April 1, 2008.
[Page consulted on Feb. 12, 2012.]