B.C. First Nations chiefs release compensation for past fiscal year

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More than a dozen First Nations chiefs in British Columbia made more than $100,000 in compensation in the most recent fiscal year, according to reports filed under federal transparency rules that are now in their second year.

That puts those leaders at the high end of a compensation scale that ranges from less than $15,000 a year – the reported compensation for the chief of the Bridge River Indian Band near Lillooet – to more than $200,000 for the chief of the Gwawaenuk Tribe near Port McNeill on Vancouver Island.

The Bridge River band has a registered population of 457 people, while the Gwawaenuk Tribe has a registered population of 41.

The compensation figures, along with audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, are posted online under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, which took effect last year and requires nearly 600 bands across the country to file audited financial reports, as well as the remuneration and expenses for chiefs and council members.

When it brought in the changes, the federal Conservative government said the act would help improve governance, and make chiefs and councils more accountable to band members.

Some aboriginal leaders, however, have said the legislation was heavy-handed and designed to shift attention from chronic government underfunding under treaty arrangements.

Kwadacha Nation chief Donny Van Somer, whose reported compensation was $110,000 in 2014-15, said he didn't object to the requirement for disclosure, saying it was "not a big deal" for him or his councillors.

The Kwadacha band, near Prince George, has a registered population of 548 people.

But he questioned whether the transparency act had resulted in significant benefits for band members and/or whether the process tended to sour broader public opinion on First Nations issues.

"I think it's a scheme by the government to make First Nations look bad – I think our role is just as important, and as busy, as any mayor or premier out there," Mr. Van Somer, who is in his third term as elected band chief, said on Monday.

"I think a lot of people don't understand what a First Nations chief does, small community or large," he added.

Mr. Van Somer said his job involves being on call "pretty well 24/7," and overseeing community services ranging from health care to a local sawmill. He also takes the lead in negotiations with outside interests, such as forestry companies, that may want to pursue business ventures in Kwadacha territory.

Gwawaenuk Tribe Chief Charlie Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, he was quoted in the Vancouver Sun as saying that some of his compensation was related to forestry business.

The chief of the Semiahmoo First Nation received $267,309 in compensation for 2013-14, though the band has not filed for the most recent year. The band issued a news release last week that said most of the money used for those compensation packages came from economic agreements. Band leaders were meeting with residents to explain the salaries, the release said.

Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Ellis Ross said he had mixed feelings about the disclosure requirements.

"If they [the federal government] really truly believed that the intent was to provide transparency to band members, why did they open up the numbers to the whole world?" said Mr. Ross, who has played a key role in Haisla negotiations with partners in prospective liquified natural gas ventures. His compensation was listed as $75,000.

"In the racist society that we live in, you're just adding fuel to the fire, that's all you're doing."

The Haisla routinely released salary and expense information to band members before the transparency legislation took effect, Mr. Ross said, adding that the act also requires bands to disclose information about revenues that come from non-government business ventures – something that many bands find overly intrusive.

He also questions whether the type of information disclosed is detailed enough to give band members a full picture, as it does not necessarily specify, for example, whether a chief or councillor includes "finders' fees" or other benefits, such as gift cards, from corporations in their compensation.

Public servants are subject to similar disclosure requirements. Ontario and British Columbia, for example, publicly release the names and salaries of public servants who make more than $100,000 per year.

Of the 186 B.C. bands listed on the federal site, 55 – or about 30 per cent – have not yet filed financial reports.

The average compensation, not including expenses, for those chiefs for whom information has been filed is about $60,000. And of the bands that have filed information, there are 55 for which the chief received compensation of less than $50,000 a year.

Chief Ron Giesbrecht of the Kwikwetlem band, who made headlines last year for taking home nearly $1-million in compensation, received $113,167, including nearly $23,000 in bonuses.