Frontier Centre for Public Policy has published the document "Financial Compensation of First Nations Leaders" written by Dr. Tom Flanagan and Laura Johnson

CALGARY, Nov. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - Frontier Centre for Public Policy has published the document "Financial Compensation of First Nations Leaders" written by Dr. Tom Flanagan and Laura Johnson. Financial data was made available by the passage in 2013 of the First Nations Fiscal Transparency Act, requiring that First Nations provide public disclosure of compensation paid to chiefs and councillors.

This report acknowledges that variation in the amount of compensation received by Chiefs and councillors is often dependent on First Nation size and per capita revenue. First Nations differ from other local governments in that:

• Many First Nations have very small populations; therefore, chiefs and councillors may be volunteers or even paid employees,
• They often have relatively large councils, as the Indian Act provides for one councillor per 100 members up to a maximum of 12,
• Many First Nations have virtually no private sector economy on the reserve, frequently making government the only employer,
• Income earned by First Nations members on reserve is not subject to provincial or federal income tax.

The report offers statistical analysis, it recommends developing a standard scale for compensation and to distinguish between payments for carrying out governmental functions and those for running business enterprises. Flanagan and Johnson state that adopting their recommendations would improve the quality of information available to First Nations people and the public, reducing acrimony that arises over the compensation paid to chiefs and councillors.

Dr. Tom Flanagan is Chair of the Aboriginal Futures program for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, author of several award-winning books on Aboriginal issues, a columnist for the Globe & Mail and frequent contributor to national and international press. Laura Johnson holds a Chemical Engineering degree with a minor in Economics from the University of Waterloo and has completed a Master of Public Policy program.

Dr. Flanagan and Ms. Johnson's "Financial Compensation of First Nations Leaders" can be found here: Aboriginal Compensation

SOURCE Frontier Centre for Public Policy

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