Feds Put Attawapiskat Financial Management in Outside Hands

What's that word that native groups are always asking for? Auto... auto-something...

The Conservative government has moved to take management of funds received by the Attawapiskat first nation community to an independent third party instead of the band's leaders. The government explained the move as a means to determine how $90 million paid to the northern Ontario community since 2006 has resulted in a housing and infrastructure crisis that's generated headlines across the country. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will discuss the issue with Shawn Atleo, the Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, on Thursday. Opposition MPs aren't too happy with the move to pare back aboriginal autonomy, with the NDP's Charlie Angus claiming that the Tories are "blaming the community" despite there being far more complex reasons underpinning the current crisis than financial mismanagement. (And, as the Globe article notes, auditors' reports on Attawapiskat have never found that band leaders have unfairly profited from federal funding.) Meanwhile, the Red Cross continues to provide emergency assistance in Attawapiskat.