A simmering controversy over Canada’s largest indigenous art collection boiled over in the Commons heritage committee as MPs demanded answers about 132 missing works and accused federal officials of decades-long neglect.Blacklock's Reporter says Conservative MP Rachael Thomas led the charge, saying the Department of Crown-indigenous Relations allowed priceless cultural pieces to vanish through what she called “despicable” mismanagement. She noted some works have been unaccounted for since the 1980s, yet officials still haven’t recovered them despite audits showing their last known locations.Thomas said the government’s attitude amounted to shrugging off serious cultural loss. A federal audit released October 17 revealed 132 of 5,176 works collected since 1965 had disappeared under security so lax it created “an increased risk of theft.” .Auditors said some missing pieces should be traceable because their last recorded locations were known.Deputy Minister Valerie Gideon pushed back, insisting no artwork was lost or stolen, claiming the discrepancies stemmed from duplicate records and errors dating back to a 2010 shift to a new information management system. Gideon said 12 works had been found, leaving 120 still unaccounted for.Thomas pressed further, asking whether artists were notified about the missing pieces. Gideon admitted they were not. Conservative MP Kevin Waugh questioned if police were ever contacted. Gideon said there was “no indication” of criminal activity and that the department was still reviewing inventory records..Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux expressed disbelief at the testimony, calling the situation negligent and incomprehensible. He said it defied logic that the department could claim the pieces weren’t lost while admitting they didn’t know where they were.Auditors also found the department spends $1.2 million annually on storage and overhead for the collection, with 10 employees responsible for safeguarding paintings, sculptures and photographs.The committee’s review of the missing art continues.
