Provincial Auditor Outlines Concerns with NRSTA

Provincial Auditor Outlines Concerns with NRSTA

Friday, June 04, 2004 at 14:23

 

 

Saskatchewan’s provincial auditor is criticizing the way the Northern Revenue Sharing Trust Account is managed.

 

In a report released yesterday, Fred Wendel said the Government Relations department needs to do a better job of overseeing the account’s operations.

 

Wendel told reporters that the department is having a lot of trouble preparing reports and information for decision-making purposes.

 

Northern Affairs minister Buckley Belanger says the money in the NRSTA is being well-managed by its northern trustees, and as far as he knows, the auditor’s concerns are not with them.

 

Trustees approved 17 million dollars in infrastructure funding in northern Saskatchewan from the NRSTA last year.

 

At the end of 2003, it had a balance of roughly 21.5 million dollars.

 

The account receives between 6 to 7 million dollars a year from the province’s general revenue fund.

 

Crown land lease fees collected in northern Saskatchewan are deposited into the account, as well.