APTN National News
The Transparency Act may show how much chiefs make.
But it doesn’t answer some big questions.
What is the job description of a chief?
And, what is it worth?
As APTN’s Trina Roache reports, the answer depends on who you ask.
5 thoughts on “What to pay a chief?”
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It would appear that APTN has an agenda, inviting comment but if they don’t like what is said they don’t allow it to be shown. I guess Aboriginal people still have no voice…SURPRISE!!
Reposting, don’t know if it saved the first time:
The office of Chief or even Council of any reserve should not be a paid position. It should be an honor to represent your people. Granted it does take a bit of time, sometimes, to do the usual houskeeping of the duties that go with it but that’s what you signed on for. The idea of the position being worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is ludicrous, especially for the smaller FN’s that have only a few hundered members. The Chiefs and Councillors pull down a range from 75-500 thousand dollars per year each, plus any hidden agendas that they have to get more of the public purse, that money is taken directly from Band funding, and depending on the number of Councillors, would add up to a signifigant amount to take from any Band and their Members. With unemployment rates of 85-95% on reserve and the average take home for the average Member being around 10 thousand dollars per year, poverty is a way of life for most reserves. This doesn’t help.
A solution to this is simple. Take the 8 billion dollars set aside yearly for Indian Affairs to distribute to FN’s usng arcane formulas and such, giving it to the C&C’s of FN’s and watching it disappear, instead take those funds and take the number of registered Indians and divide it up equally (tax free of course)! Indian Affairs can still have a small role in the distibution of said monies, making sure that everyone gets his or her share. If people want to stay on Reserve, then they can pay a rate to the Reserve, much like a town or village, for essential services. In this way the people have say in what goes on and how their town is run, unlike the present system, anyone who has lived on a reserve knows what I mean.
They will also be free to live where they wish, anywhere, no more restrictions because they are tied to the welfare state of living on reserve because they have no alternative. This give them, us, all greater flexibility without the welfare mentality associated with reserve life…
The office of Chief or even Council of any reserve should not be a paid position. It should be an honor to represent your people. Granted it does take a bit of time, sometimes, to do the usual houskeeping of the duties that go with it but that’s what you signed on for. The idea of the position being worth hundreds of thousands of dollars is ludicrous, especially for the smaller FN’s that have only a few hundered members. The Chiefs and Councillors pull down a range from 75-500 thousand dollars per year each, plus any hidden agendas that they have to get more of the public purse, that money is taken directly from Band funding, and depending on the number of Councillors, would add up to a signifigant amount to take from any Band and their Members. With unemployment rates of 85-95% on reserve and the average take home for the average Member being around 10 thousand dollars per year, poverty is a way of life for most reserves. This doesn’t help.
A solution to this is simple. Take the 8 billion dollars set aside yearly for Indian Affairs to distribute to FN’s usng arcane formulas and such, giving it to the C&C’s of FN’s and watching it disappear, instead take those funds and take the number of registered Indians and divide it up equally (tax free of course)! Indian Affairs can still have a small role in the distibution of said monies, making sure that everyone gets his or her share. If people want to stay on Reserve, then they can pay a rate to the Reserve, much like a town or village, for essential services. In this way the people have say in what goes on and how their town is run, unlike the present system, anyone who has lived on a reserve knows what I mean.
They will also be free to live where they wish, anywhere, no more restrictions because they are tied to the welfare state of living on reserve because they have no alternative. This give them, us, all greater flexibility without the welfare mentality associated with reserve life…
So I guess that would be the same for mayors of towns and cities and councillors and reeves of municipalities??
Travel and expenses are not part of a Chief’s salary and should not be included in posting. The reality is the more remote a First Nation is the more it will cost to attend regional and national meetings. Travel and expenses are reimbursments for the outlay of the costs of travel.