Dear Prime Minister:

On July 21, 1999, a group of 60 frustrated residents from the Lake St. Martin First Nations reserve took their grievances with band officials to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation offices in Winnipeg, following a two and a half day protest march from their reserve. The Lake St. Martin First Nations Accountability Committee held the march to raise awareness to problems on their reserve that stem not from a shortage of funding, but from a lack of accountability by the Band Council.

The question of accountability and transparency on native reserves is now all to commonplace. The objections outlined by the Lake St. Martin protestors have also been articulated by residents of the Sagkeeng reserve and the First Nations Accountability Coalition in Manitoba. Accountability mechanisms are necessary to maintain the support and confidence of First Nations members and Canadian taxpayers.

The appalling conditions on Canada's native reserves are well noted but poorly accounted for. Time and time again, ordinary Band members blame Band officials for squandering federal expenditures targeted to improving the quality of life on the reserve. Of the $4.5 billion that Indian Affairs spends on Canada's reserves, over 80 percent winds-up in the hands of Band Councils, not individual residents.

Steering support payments to individuals through Band Councils first, is as preposterous a system as Ottawa sending Old Age Security payments to municipalities to distribute. If the money is not reaching the individual residents of the funded reserves, then Indian Affairs should steer funding to individuals directly, bypassing the Band Council bureaucracy entirely.

In the meantime, 'independent' financial and operational audits should be commissioned by the federal government to satisfy Canadian taxpayers that tax dollars are being managed appropriately and that Indian Affairs programmes are run efficiently and effectively.

The Auditor General Denis Desautels has also highlighted this issue in his reports, criticizing the federal government for transferring large grants to native bands without following up to see how funds were managed. The Auditor General recommended operational audits of Indian Affairs grants to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of Indian Affairs programmes.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation urges the federal government to take heed of the Auditor General's recommendations and implement independent financial and operation audits of Canada's native reserves. Thank you.

Respectfully,