PUBLIC STATEMENT
UBCIC Expresses Condolences on the Passing of Auditor General Michael Ferguson
(Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, B.C. – February 7, 2019) The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) offers our sincere sympathies and condolences to the family and colleagues of Michael Ferguson, Canada’s Auditor General, who passed away on February 2, 2019 due to cancer.
Mr. Ferguson was appointed Auditor General of Canada in November 2011. Throughout his tenure, he performed his job with integrity and forthrightness, speaking out strongly against the disparity in government programs and services designed to assist and bring justice in the form of redress to Indigenous peoples in Canada.
In his many reports, Mr. Ferguson displayed the insight that results from approaching one’s work with intelligence and compassion in equal amounts. He pinpointed the rampant inconsistencies and shortfalls of government operations and denounced their effects: systemic inequality and a failure to uphold Canada’s human rights obligations. His public expressions of frustration at the slow pace of change endemic to government bureaucracies – his candor in identifying the discrepancy between paying public lip service and implementing concrete reforms – found favour amongst Indigenous peoples across the country, hoping his words would resonate where our own were all too often disregarded.
We hope his work continues to enrich the public service and that his thoughtfulness will guide it into the future.