"Over the past year, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a taxpayer watchdog group, revealed the exorbitant salaries paid to many native politicians, based on the leaks it acquired through its own sources. According to the CTF, in 2009, "approximately 50 reserve politicians made more than the Prime Minister of Canada. Approximately 160 reserve politicians made more than their respective provincial premiers." In some cases, the CTF made front-page headlines by shaming relatively small bands that paid their leaders mid-six-figure salaries -despite these bands having just a few hundred members. The loud and sustained outcry at these revelations allowed Ms. Block's bill to survive, despite the Liberal leadership's efforts to have the party's MPs vote it down.

Sadly, this isn't the first time the Liberals have sought to undermine an attempt to bring accountability to reserve governments. A decade ago, as noted above, they scuttled their own, more ambitious First Nations Governance Act, which would have made band councils the subjects of regular public audits, salary and spending disclosures, and access to information requests. The Act had the blessing of former prime minister Jean Chrétien -but then along came Paul Martin, who coveted Mr. Chretien's job. In return for Assembly of First Nations support for his leadership bid, he promised to kill the bill.

It is important to remember that not all First Nations politicians receive absurdly high salaries, nor do all of them oppose meaningful accountability standards. This newspaper has profiled many aboriginal politicians who work hard, serving their fellow band members, often for relatively low pay and under difficult conditions. There also are some real reformers among the country's chiefs and band councillors -people who realize that the culture of dependency must end, and that aboriginal communities must move their economies in the direction of private enterprise, accountability and transparency."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Accountability on native reserves (The National Post 3/9)

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Opinion: Political salaries on First Nations should stay public (10/11)