Most First Nations are not complying with federal audit law: study
A Fraser Institute study revealed that 59% of First Nations are failing to complete required audits.
A Fraser Institute study found that 59% of First Nations failed to meet First Nations Financial Transparency Act requirements in 2024/25, up from near-full compliance in 2014/15 after Ottawa stopped enforcing penalties.
“Financial transparency and accountability are paramount in any government to ensure honesty, which is exactly what the act was meant to achieve within First Nation communities,” said Tom Flanagan, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Transparency and Accountability in First Nations Governments.
The findings come alongside a 2025 Angus Reid poll showing 82 per cent of Canadians and 72 per cent of Indigenous respondents support public spending transparency.
