Métis Nation-Saskatchewan is out of the red

The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan reported Friday that it has eliminated an accumulated debt that had reached $1.79 million two years ago.

The organization, which is the officially representative of the Métis population in the province, has improved accountability in its spending, said its president, Robert Doucette.

He said that was key to winning back support of major funding sources, including the federal and provincial governments.

"This attitude of ... just give us the money and get out of our way we're going to spend it any way we want because we're an aboriginal government, those days are over," Doucette told CBC News in an interview Friday. "They're over, and they should be over."

Doucette said the organization sold a piece of property in Saskatoon that was becoming too expensive to finance and maintain in order to reduce ongoing costs.

The group has about $3 million of funding from the federal and provincial government for its programs this year, an increase of about 70 per cent from previous years.

It has also been able to hire staff and establish policy and program areas such as intergovernmental affairs, harvesting and fisheries, and communications.