Whenever I see a clip about squalid conditions on native reserves....

...I google the facts because today's journalists are too lazy.  Here are a few about the Sandy Bay reserve in Manitoba:

• In 1989, the federal government transferred funding to Sandy Bay to manage its own affairs;
• Subsequently, the First Nations Infrastructure Funding (FNIF) program allocated $239.4 million for proposal-based projects on-reserve for:
• solid waste management,
• energy systems,
• local roads and bridges,
• planning,
• skills development, and
• connectivity;
• Manitoba, where Sandy Bay is located, received $45.1 million -- the most for any province;
• The Maritimes received the least;
• The current chief of Sandy Bay now accuses the previous council of racking up $19 million in debt, or would that be "stealing"?;
• Over and above this money, the Liberal government recently handed over another $495,000 in 2016 for new-home construction in Sandy Bay;
• The government also gave Sandy Bay another $1.8 million for repairs to existing homes (the ones in the TV clip); and
• Sandy Bay says it doesn't know where the money went, but doesn't want a third-party forensic audit that would tell it. 

Huh???

Currently, 55 teachers on this reserve of 6,174 are owed $737,000 in pay, even as they are obliged to continue to pay into their pensions, deductions and insurance.  What does chief Lance Roulette say about all this?  "I don't know where the money went, or where it is going now."  Seriously?

So, the next time you see a grotesque clip about a remote, sordid reserve, do a little research.  If you buy into all the usual folklore and hype, you will be shocked when you learn the actual facts.  And I bet the inhabitants have no clue either because it's easier to just flip it up to YouTube.  These people need to hold their own council to account, instead of blaming the rest of Canada.  And Minister Carolyn Bennett needs to get a grip and tell the truth.   

Disgraceful.