More controversy at SIGA

The board of SIGA has placed their president on "administrative leave." There has been no indication that an investigation is underway.

Here's some background on SIGA:
For those unfamiliar with Saskatchean, SIGA, or the Saskatchewan Indian and Gaming Authority, was established in 1995 under the Non-Profit Corporations Act. The operators of SIGA are the FSIN and its Tribal Councils.

The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority licenses SIGA, through the Casino Operating Agreement, to operate and manage table games. Under this agreement SIGA is to use the net proceeds from the operations of licensed table games for aboriginal charitable or religious purposes.

Liquor and Gaming owns and manages the slot machines located in the SIGA casinos as required by section 207 of The Criminal Code of Canada. SIGA is able to deduct reasonable costs of operating the casinos from the slot machines and is required to remit the net profits to Liquor and Gaming. The revenue from the slot machines belongs to Liquor and Gaming. In other words, it is public money.

So it goes without saying that the CTF has long advocated for more accountability and transparency for SIGA. Why?

An 2002 audit report concluded SIGA spent $14 million of the public’s money outside the rules. For example, two payments that the auditor believes are not authorized under the 1995 Casino Operating Agreement total $550,000. Of that $400,000 was paid to the FSIN and $150,000 to the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Licensing (SIGL). In addition, SIGA spent approximately $3,100 for golf club memberships for certain staff, and paid approximately $1,400 in accommodation costs and golf course fees for some individuals.