Most Canadians want the federal government to enforce laws requiring First Nations to publish their financial statements, a recent poll says.
According to polling firm Angus Reid Institute, 82 per cent of Canadians think Ottawa should require First Nation governments to report on how they spend public money — and that this requirement should be enforced. Among Indigenous survey respondents, 72 per cent said the same.
A federal law requiring First Nations to publish their financial statements — including chief and council salaries — was passed in 2013. Under the law, Ottawa could withhold money from First Nations that did not comply.
The federal government has not enforced the law since 2015.
But the law remains controversial. Some say it is crucial for keeping First Nations’ leadership accountable to members. Others say it reinforces stereotypes about First Nations being financially irresponsible.
Government overreach?
Parliament passed the First Nations Financial Transparency Act in 2013, under then prime minister Stephen Harper.
In December 2015, shortly after Justin Trudeau was first elected prime minister, the federal government stopped enforcing the law. Carolyn Bennett, then minister of Indigenous and northern affairs, said the federal government would reinstate funding to First Nations whose funding had been suspended for not obeying the law and that court actions initiated under the law would be suspended.
This was “in keeping with [the federal government’s] commitment to a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship,” Bennett said at the time.
The law has not been repealed.
In a statement to Canadian Affairs, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada said that many Indigenous groups have told the government they want the law repealed.
Many First Nations also continue to publish their financial statements, which are available on a federal database.
The financial transparency act was “one of the best news for band members in Canada,” said Robert Louie, founder of the Band Members Alliance and Advocacy Association of Canada. The non-profit helps First Nation members who are seeking accountability from their chief and council.
Louie, a member of the Lower Kootenay First Nation in B.C., says he “was not surprised at all” that most First Nation members supported enforcing the law.
The law required First Nations to make their financial statements available to members upon request. First Nation members often struggle to get financial information from their governments, he says, including information about how federal money intended to help First Nations children is spent.
Since the federal government stopped enforcing the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, First Nation members must try to enforce it, says Louie. Often, this only happens by taking the First Nation to court — an option most people find daunting, he says.
In March, the Federal Court ordered Thunderchild First Nation in Saskatchewan to publish its financial statements. The Band Members Alliance and Advocacy Association of Canada was one of the applicants in the case.
“If [First Nations governments] want to talk about being a government, they should act like a government,” said Louie.
But Daniel Sims, a professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia, says many First Nations regard the law as an “intrusion” into their affairs that contradicts the idea that they should be treated as nations.
In his opinion, the law “is an example of government overreach.”
In some cases, it makes First Nations hesitant to provide all the services their members need. Their governments do not want to run deficits in case that leads Ottawa to take control of their finances, he says.
Stereotypes
Most First Nations provide their financial statements to their members, says Sims. But people may not know where to find them.
Sims, who is a member of the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation in B.C., says First Nations’ financial statements show that many First Nations do not rely only on federal funding, and that their federal funding is often small.
The idea that First Nations are completely dependent on the federal government is a “stereotype that’s hard to kill,” he said. It relates to an old idea that First Nations do not know how to manage their resources, he says.
The Angus Reid poll shows Canadians have mixed views about levels of federal funding to First Nations. Nationally, 30 per cent said Ottawa gives First Nations too much money, while 27 per cent said they give too little. Only 21 per cent said federal funding for First Nations is the right amount. Residents of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were the most likely to say Ottawa gives First Nations too much money.
The First Nations Financial Transparency Act raises “a larger question of whether or not one government has the ability to tell another government what to do,” said Sims.
“In theory, [enforcing the law] sounds good. But it also raises questions regarding why people think it’s good, and whether or not actually publishing [the financial documents] makes any difference.”
“New fiscal relationship”
In its statement to Canadian Affairs, Indigenous Services Canada confirmed that all First Nations that have federal funding agreements must provide audited financial statements to the federal government and to First Nation members.
“It is not the First Nations Financial Transparency Act that creates that obligation; the First Nations Financial Transparency Act simply introduced punitive measures for First Nations experiencing capacity gaps,” spokesperson Anispiragas Piragasanathar said in a statement.
Indigenous Services Canada said it is still working with several First Nation organizations “to establish a new fiscal relationship that moves towards predictable, flexible and sufficient funding for First Nations governments, supporting their right to self-determination.”
Many First Nations economies are growing, says Sims, and the employment gap between First Nations and non-First Nations people is shrinking.
But the Angus Reid poll shows many First Nations members are not convinced things are improving. Only 54 per cent of First Nations respondents said they felt the overall situation of First Nations people in their province had improved during the past 10 to 15 years.
Louie says financial transparency of First Nations matters to all Canadians.
While many people think financial accountability for First Nations is “an internal issue” for First Nations to figure out, this ignores the power imbalance between chief and council and First Nation members, he says.
“Chief and council have all the resources, all the power,” he said.
I’m 78 and a born Canadian from B.C.! Born in Halifax and my Dad was transferred , RCN to Victoria! In 1946! My question;
How much do Canadian Taxpayers pay the Indigenous Peoples and do they pay income tax? Thank You I!
It would be interesting to know what percentage of the funds that go to the indigenous people actually go to the people and not just the Chiefs and the councils. Or do they have loopholes to be able to send money offshore like our wealthy Canadians and politicians in Ottawa? Again Trudeau failed to plug those loopholes for those who are wealthy and of course, the lower and middle income continue to pay the greater percentage of taxation in this country. Greater equity continues to be needed in all aspects of federal funding for Canadians.
I suspect many objections from the leadership relates to concerns regarding disclosing their own compensation and benefits. Not necessarily a question of fraud or malfeasance but rather a concern of band members taking issue with their magnitude. While this is an issue, the larger issue is the extent to which dedicated funds are inappropriately spent on other than their intended uses and/or on the efficacy of the monies spent. This opens up issues for the funding government about oversight or the lack thereof.
Any group that takes government funding should be required to account for the money and how it is spent, whether Indigenous or non-Indigenous. It does not surprise me that 72% of Indigenous respondents to the Angus Reid Poll want transparency. Indigenous leadership is not immune to corruption anymore than non-Indigenous. Money for Indigenous communities should reach primarily those living in the community.