Proposed bill may disclose salaries of band leaders

First Nations leaders are outraged by a recent move of a Saskatchewan MP to demand First Nations chiefs and councillors make their salaries public.

Rosetown-Biggar Conservative MP Kelly Block said Aboriginals should be treated the same as all those voted into a public office, and that the public deserves to know how taxpayers’ money is spent.

In the proposed law that’s expected to go to second reading in November, Bill C-575, the private member’s bill called the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, would make all chiefs and councillors reveal their salaries to their communities.

The bill was introduced after consulting with other MPs and because of reports that some salaries had gotten out of control, she said. The bill would mean that if salaries are not disclosed, the Act would empower the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs to provide them.

Gloria Shepherd, chief of the Oceanman First Nation, said she believes Block’s bill has less to do with First Nations accountability and more to do with constant haranguing of Aboriginal people by government. She called the bill a ‘witch hunt’.

“I say witch hunt because it seems like First Nations leaders are always under attack,” she said.

As for her salary, she has no issue with making it public. However, because some First Nations have other sources of income, it’s sometimes a different matter.

“I have no problem about revealing my salary...it’s just if we use our own source revenue ... than it’s nobody’s business, not even INAC ,” she said. “If it’s public funding, then it is public information.”

Shepherd said because the bill goes too far, it’s a breach of privacy.

“The bill is unconstitutional. It violates the Privacy Act and it is discriminatory,” she said.

Guy Lonechild, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations(FSIN), told Sage the bill simply doesn’t make sense because First Nations leaders are already required to share salaries and other expenses.

“While the FSIN fully supports and endorses measures that promote accountable and transparent governance, this Bill is ill-conceived and insinuates that First Nations leaders are not being fully accountable,” he said.

“This bill is unnecessary... FSIN has disclosed remuneration for its executive members on an annual basis for the past eight years, as per the direction of the 74 First Nations of Saskatchewan, which are committed to accountability and transparency.”

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo said the bill reveals how First Nations people are misunderstood.

“(This) appears to be part of a troubling series of insinuations about First Nations peoples, based on misinformation and a lack of understanding as to what the real accountability issues are. We suggest a better approach is to deal with the facts.”

Atleo says reports of outrageous salaries are untrue, and that average salaries for First Nation chiefs were in the range of $50-60,000 and for councilors it was $30,000.
“ We would be interested in seeing any data or facts, not anecdotes or hearsay, that the Member of Parliament can produce, indicating that salaries for First Nation elected officials are out of line,” he said.

The AFN is holding a planning and dialogue forum Nov. 8-9 in Montreal to explore models and tools of building effective governments including delivering on all aspects of accountability.  This is open to First Nations leaders, citizens, policy-makers and other governments and organizations.