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Cash-strapped First Nation spent at least $4.4M on consulting firm controlled by Winnipeg developer – CBC

July 16, 2024

Peguis First Nation and a real estate business it created paid a company controlled by a Winnipeg developer at least $4.4 million over two years for consulting services, CBC News has learned.

The leaders of the cash-strapped Cree and Ojibway nation, which struggles with perennial flooding and the financial aftermath of high-interest loans, are now questioning the payments, which were approved under a previous chief and council.

Between April 5, 2021, and March 10, 2023, Peguis First Nation paid $3.8 million to a numbered company controlled by developer Andrew Marquess, according to a list of payments provided to CBC News by the band’s chief and council.

Between Aug. 17, 2021 and March 29, 2022, the Peguis First Nation Real Estate Trust, a limited partnership with the stated goal of creating housing and engaging in off-reserve development, recorded at least $600,000 worth of payments to the same Marquess-controlled company, according to financial records obtained by CBC News.

Read More: https://canadanewsmedia.ca/cash-strapped-first-nation-spent-at-least-4-4m-on-consulting-firm-controlled-by-winnipeg-developer-cbc-ca/

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