MN-S Erases $1.79-Million Debt

MN-S Erases $1.79-Million Debt

Friday, July 31, 2009 at 13:38

The president of the Metis Nation – Saskatchewan is touting his executive as the country’s most accountable Aboriginal government.

At a news conference today, Robert Doucette reminded reporters that he had set that goal back in January of last year.

Doucette says his government has achieved this by digging itself out of a $1.79-million debt — a burden the current MN-S executive inherited when it took office in the summer of 2007.

The MN-S is now debt-free, and Doucette says the group has rebuilt relationships with the federal and provincial governments to the tune of $3-million in annual funding.

He says his group has proven wrong anyone who thinks Aboriginal governments can’t run their own affairs and their finances, and he calls it a good day for Aboriginal governments across Canada.

Doucette says the MN-S wants to eventually become more self-sufficient by finding ways to generate revenue, rather than relying solely on government transfer payments.

He says Canadian taxpayers should find a great deal of comfort in knowing that the money provided to the MN-S by the government is being well spent.