TORONTO — The federal government says they’re pulling the third-party manager who has been handling the finances the troubled northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat.
Officials with the Conservative government say Jacques Marion is being withdrawn because of progress in reserve management.
The band is now expected to get more control over its finances.
NDP MP Charlie Angus, whose riding includes Attawapiskat, says the band has told him it received a letter from Aboriginal Affairs that it would be pulling Marion effective April 19.
Angus says the news came as a shock to Attawapiskat’s chief.
The community of 2,000 declared a state of emergency last October after a severe housing shortage forced at least two dozen families to live in temporary shelters, some without insulation or plumbing.
The federal government removed control of public funding from the band in November and ordered an audit of its spending.