Irwin under fire

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Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin has been on the hot seat over the inaccuracy of the department's estimates of Canada's Aboriginal population.

In response to the Statistics Canada analyst's claim the department overestimates the Aboriginal population by 70,000 people, Irwin has promised to tighten controls on calculating numbers.

Populations lists are used by Indian Affairs to calculate the payments made to Indian bands and the analysts says the lists are rife with duplication. This duplication could mean an over-payment of $1 billion by the federal treasury.

Irwin agreed there have been problems in keeping accurate accounts, especially when the department keeps names on band lists until people reach the age of 100, unless otherwise notified.