Chiefs of greed
Outlandish salaries prove changes needed on reserves
CALGARY HERALD APRIL 23, 2010 COMMENTS (17)
Documents leaked to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation by a member of the Enoch Cree First Nation show that its chief, Harry Sharphead, earns more than Premier Ed Stelmach. The Enoch Cree have 2,170 members. Alberta has a population of 3,711,845. Sharphead's tax-free equivalent salary is $274,000. Stelmach earns $214,000.
Either Sharphead is overpaid or Stelmach is underpaid, and we're not advocating a raise for the latter. Considering the average income for a member of the Enoch Cree is about $12,000 and some live in condemned and substandard housing, one can understand why the leaked financial documents to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation came with an accompanying note saying, "I am writing out of pure frustration."
The Aboriginal People's Television Network last week interviewed two Enoch women about the chief's remuneration. Neither was pleased. One lives in a house with mould issues, the other in a house with boarded windows.
Sharphead was elected last summer at the age of 40 for a two-year term, defeating incumbent Ron Morin. Living up to his promise to bring in transparency, Sharphead, to his credit, reduced his tax-free salary last November from $250,000 to $180,000. On a tax-free basis, that equates to a reduction from $388,000 to $274,000, according to the federation.
Morin, the federation notes, earned an even more lucrative $327,712 in 2006-07, for a taxfree equivalent of $515,720. Enoch councillors that year earned about $175,725, or a taxfree equivalent of $265,000.
Considering that other tribal salaries have been exposed as stratospheric, this is hardly startling. In January, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation released sky-high band council pay levels on the Peguis reserve in Manitoba. The five members of the 7,200-member band decided to pay themselves the taxable equivalent of approximately $295,000 to $439,000 in 2008-09, which was almost equal to or higher than Prime Minister Stephen Harper's salary of $310,000.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says many native people complain that chiefs and councillors ignore their attempts to get information on salaries, even though they are legally entitled to it. The federation says those salaries should be posted on all tribal websites, but Indian and Northern Affairs says it is legally prevented by case law and the Privacy Act from releasing salary information. This, the federation notes, goes against pay-disclosure practices for other taxpayer-funded elected officials in Canada. Not all First Nations revenues come from the taxpayer. In addition to Indian Affairs, revenue is also generated from tribal enterprises, the complexities of which can vary widely.
The federation also argues that chief and councillor salaries should be determined by independent third parties. Currently, native governments set their own pay.
Given that Indian Affairs says it is legally restricted from disclosing salaries, it appears that First Nations governing members must do so themselves. Sadly, it's doubtful much will change. The Enoch Cree website still lists Morin as chief, nine months after he was defeated.
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