Peguis First Nation faces internal dissent over debt owed to failed lender Bridging Finance – The Globe and Mail

Mar 24, 2023

Months of simmering tensions over a nearly $170-million debt owed by Peguis First Nation to failed lender Bridging Finance Inc. have boiled over, with critics in the community accusing the band council of arbitrarily writing down the debt to just $25-million ahead of an April band council election.

The writedown was revealed in financial statements posted last week on the website of Peguis First Nation, raising concerns from its members and accounting experts about whether the writedown disguises the size of the debt facing the community.

Peguis, a First Nation that has a registered population of 11,000 and whose main reserve is located about 190 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has borrowed millions from Bridging.