Disclose Reserve Politicians' Pay

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If you think all politicians, no matter what their ethnicity, should have to disclose their salaries to the public, then you'll like this campaign.

You see, right now in Canada, municipal, provincial and federal politicians have to disclose their salaries to the public.

Unfortunately for people on reserves, although federal funding agreements require disclosure of their politicians' salaries, many band members are often refused such basic information.

That is why the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has helped band members from several communities push the federal government to put the information online so that everyone can access the information anonymously. We have also helped band members expose several cases of wild politicians salaries that were kept hidden from their communities.

Shockingly, federal government data obtained by the CTF showed that in 2008-09 approximately 50 reserve politicians made more than the Prime Minister of Canada. Approximately 160 reserve politicians made more than their respective provincial premiers.

However, current privacy laws prevented the federal government from releasing names beside the salary figures. Thus, it's difficult for band members to know who made how much and to hold their politicians accountable. You can see how the status quo unfairly casts a dark shadow over the many reserve politicians who aren't receiving extravagant pay for their work.

UPDATE: The federal government listened to the concerns we raised and fixed and reintroduced a bill (First Nations Financial Transparency Act) that would put reserve politicians' pay information online for all to see. The bill is even more comprehensive than the private members bill tabled by MP Kelly Block in 2010 (the bill died when the election occurred.)

No doubt some reserve politicians and opposition MPs will object to the new legislation - just like they did with the old legislation. Please take a moment to tell Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister John Duncan "Don't back down! Pass the legislation!"

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