SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknives Dene First Nation's attempt at financial disclosure was rejected by the federal government due to a lack of detail, according to the chief of Dettah.

The First Nations Financial Transparency Act passed by the federal government requires aboriginal governments to submit financial audits, including the salaries of chief and councillors.

If the deadline was missed and the documents were not posted Sept. 1, Bernard Valcourt, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada minister, has stated the federal government will withhold non-essential funding.

The documents submitted to Aboriginal Affairs are posted publicly online. The Yellowknives Dene is one of 18 First Nations in the territory that, as of a Sept. 1, appeared to have not submitted the paperwork. As of Monday, the documents were not posted.

"We certainly will be in compliance with that legislation," Chief Edward Sangris told Yellowknifer last week.

The band had attempted to file the required documents, but the federal government said more detail in the financial audit is required, he said.

A request for comment from Aboriginal Affairs was not returned by press time. Ndilo chief Ernest Betsina also did not return a request for comment.

The audit has to include information about Det'on Cho Corporation and its subsidiaries, Sangris said.

"It's really difficult to get that report on time," he said. "Our auditors are working overtime to complete that report."

The last update he received indicated the work to produce the required paperwork was about a week behind schedule, he said. He's been in contact with the federal department about what's happening.

"We phoned them and they understood our situation, so the ball is in their court. We're not defying any legislation," he said.

The amount of non-essential funding that the federal government has said it would withhold was not clear. Sangris said the amount at risk is not significant.

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