A media release by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation that revealed the salaries paid to some chiefs and councillors across Canada has tarred all First Nations leaders with the same brush.

I have to admit that when I first saw the information, I was both flabbergasted and outraged. “How can these guys do this to their people?” I thought.

However, a deeper look reveals the flaws in the CTF’s analysis.

It appears that the salary grid in Saskatchewan is less onerous than it is in other provinces. According to a statement from the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, about one-third of the First Nations leaders here make less than $40,000 a year, and only a few exceed $100,000.

The figures provided by the CTF were obtained from the Department of Indian Affairs under the Access to Information Act.

The sum includes an individual’s annual salary plus his or her travel expenses. This falsely inflates the numbers.

Nobody else includes travel expenses as a part of their income, so why should aboriginal leaders? Travel expenses constitute a reimbursement for the cost of hotel rooms, meals, mileage and incidentals.

Every person in public life incurs travel expenses in order to do his or her job.

The CTF was also quick to compare its inflated numbers with the salaries of other public officials, including the prime minister. Our politicians in Canada are well compensated, and rightly so. We want to attract the best people to public life.

The base salary for a member of Parliament is $157,731. The prime minister receives twice that, or $315,462. The leader of the Opposition, the Speaker of the House and ministers of the Crown all receive 1.5 times the base salary of an MP, or about $263,596.

The PM and Opposition leader each are also provided a free house in Ottawa.

MPs receive additional compensation that was not revealed by the CTF. Parliamentarians receive extra pay if they have additional duties serving as a committee chair, a caucus chair, a parliamentary secretary and so on.

In addition, each MP receives $25,500 for expenses and a housing allowance while they are resident in Ottawa. They also receive 64 return trips from Ottawa to their home constituency or any place in Canada.

They also receive a member’s office budget of $280,500 to pay for a constituency office, staff and other related expenses. This does not go to the members’ salaries, but they can assign some personal expenses to it.

The office budget is a cost related to their job, but is definitely not available to First Nations leaders. Also the expenses of the PM and cabinet ministers don’t reflect the cost of their use of government jets. If the CTF had added the federal and provincial politicians’ travel and additional expenses to its analysis, it would have created a much different picture.

So let’s apply this to our national and provincial leaders. Shawn Atleo, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, revealed that he receives an annual salary of $136,500. That’s less than the salary of a backbench MP.

If we want to respect the position of our national leaders, we should see them compensated at the rate of a federal cabinet minister. Our provincial leaders, too, are underpaid. If they were to receive the salary of an MP, then FSIN Chief Guy Lonechild, who makes $135,000, would also be eligible for a raise. If anything, our national and provincial leaders are underpaid.

I find this whole issue distasteful.

I agree that some of the chiefs’ salaries are outrageous and should be brought in line, but the CTF overplayed its hand. It inflated the numbers for First Nations leaders while it ignored the same expenses for MPs. This is fundamentally wrong.

I always hesitate in using the R word, but I feel that in this case it is justified. The taxpayers’ federation is practising racism in its approach to this topic. It pumped up its righteous indignation, focused on the worst examples, and let fly with racist invective.

I am also disappointed with media and opinion leaders who took the information at face value and failed to look deeper. Sometimes it seems that bad news about First Nations elicits a quick a knee-jerk reaction.

I recognized some of the Saskatchewan chiefs by the information released by the CTF. While their salaries appear high, I know they have taken their communities a long way in terms of economic and social development. In my opinion, they are worth every penny.

Their leadership has reduced welfare costs and raised their reserves’ standard of living. Our dependence on public funds is what the CTF complains about, but when a leader accomplishes a degree of success, he or she is criticized. In the long run, good leadership and stable First Nations government are what’s needed to develop our communities and reduce costs to government.

The big weakness is that the First Nations’ governance allows the chiefs and councils to determine their salaries.

In order to combat this negative publicity, First Nations leaders should adopt an independent body outside of council for the purpose. An example would be a group made up of an elder, the band auditor and unbiased citizens. As well, the salaries must be made public to the members of the First Nation.

Since band councils are subject to the vagaries of political reality, salaries should relate to the position and not individuals, and be comparable to other salaries in government.

When he was chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians, the late David Ahenakew was taking part in a radio call in show when an individual asked him what was his salary. Ahenakew replied that his salary was half that of the regional director of the Department of Indian Affairs.

Leadership is not about getting rich, but rather creating wealth and well-being for your community.

Doug Cuthand is a columnist with The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, which first printed this article.

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Cathryn Atkinson

Cathryn Atkinson is the former News and Features Editor for rabble.ca. Her career spans more than 25 years in Canada and Britain, where she lived from 1988 to 2003. Cathryn has won five awards...