Should Band finances be an open book? (Column)

The Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation (CTF) released a report recently disclosing that 80 First Nations politicians in Canada were making more than the Prime Minister.
The story continues to garner media attention and the sensationalist highlights of the report are enough to make the common person angry with speculation as to what their tax dollars are doing in the hands of well-off Indian politicians.

To many grassroots First Nations people there is a similar outrage that has become so commonplace that it’s accepted as a fact of life.

Within that outrage is a growing discussion as to whether accountability and transparency are rights within the confines of First Nations politics and the finances that keep a community running.

On my own First Nation I have seldom suspected my leadership of lining their pockets or misspending band finances.  According to the local rumour mill it has happened several times and yet there is no one with evidence or at least enough proof to make the accusations stick.  I see my leaders living modestly and taking care of community affairs as they always have.  We’re lucky that way. 

But for two First Nations politicians in Saskatchewan, they are now under the kind of scrutiny that one can seldom escape. 

The CTF has shone a bright light in a dark corner of First Nations politics that is surprisingly similar to the scrutiny that Americans are now directing at the largest of Wall Street’s financial giants.

While the advocacy efforts of the CTF are meant to be noble, unbiased and informative, it could be argued that they have ‘picked on’ a rather easy target.  For the CTF to compare the largest of First Nations politician salaries to those of the PM and Premiers is a very deliberate and convenient benchmark.

Especially since the governance structures of First Nations are so vastly different than those of other Canadians.  With this in mind it almost makes sense that the immediate, knee-jerk reaction of First Nations has been to lash out at the CTF and call them witch-hunters and inquisitors.

But beyond the hurt feelings and media spin is an actual list of 80 First Nations politicians that have had their incomes hung out like dirty laundry.  This fact begs the question of what Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and the tax-paying Canadians they answer to, will do about it.  Or more importantly, what will First Nations leaders across the country do about making their finances more accountable and transparent, if anything.
In some First Nations the practice of disclosing the band’s finances (including leadership salaries) is working out quite well for the members of those communities.  There are no surprises, no red flags and no accusations of mismanagement that cannot be resolved by revisiting the books.

To the First Nations people who have never seen the band’s finances, suspicion arisees as to what their leaders are hiding from them.  And honestly, for many First Nations leaders there really is nothing to hide which only makes disclosure a safe and rewarding practice.  The reward is the trust of your people and the respect that comes with it.  Accountability and transparency are not issues that will ever go away.  There will be other organizations of all kinds that will continue to shine bright lights on First Nations leaders and their income.  The question becomes, what do the leaders of our First Nations communities want those lights to reveal?