Whitecap Dakota First Nation posts Transparency Act disclosure
- EFN Staff | November 28, 2014
Chief Darcy Bear today announced that the Whitecap Dakota First Nation (WDFN) has fulfilled its requirements under the federal First Nations Financial Transparency Act. The legislation requires First Nations to publish financial statements on their websites.
“These transparency requirements are just a common-sense part of running a government. They are an essential part of building trust between First Nations governments and their members, as well as with our other business and financial partners. We have disclosed our financial information to our members for years so this is not a big adjustment for us,” said Bear.
Bear noted that WDFN succeeded in fulfilling the requirements of the legislation in spite of significant challenges.
“Last summer, we discovered we were victims of a fraud in which a former employee had manipulated our financial records. I want to commend our staff for all the extra time and effort they invested to get our financial statements in order to ensure we met our reporting obligations accurately and on time,” said Bear.
WDFN is located 26 km south of the City of Saskatoon. It is recognized for its strong economic record supported by sound governance practices. This includes a Council Compensation Commission which reviews and sets Chief and Council salaries annually based on a salary grid recommended by a third party expert. Council salaries are not funded through federal or provincial government transfers; they are fully funded by own source revenues generated by WDFN.
The band’s financial statements are available online.
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