FCPP says standard scale for Chiefs’ compensation needed

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has published “Financial Compensation of First Nations Leaders,” written by Dr. Tom Flanagan and Laura Johnson. The document is based on information available through the First Nations Fiscal Transparency Act, passed in 2013, and now brought into question by a recent Federal Court decision. In a legal challenge levied by six First Nations, including four in Alberta, a judge ruled that the federal government could not force the bands to file their financial statements in accordance to the FNFTA. However, working on the information available, Flanagan and Johnson say there is great variation in the amount of money paid to Chiefs and council and recommend that a standard scale for compensation be developed and distinction be made between payments for carrying out governmental functions and those for running business enterprises. The executive summary states, “Greater transparency should lead to more efficiency in First Nations government as well as more informed and less acrimonious public debate about compensation.” Flanagana professor at the University of Calgary, is chair of the Aboriginal Futures program for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Johnson has a master degree in public policy program.