It’s the level of government very few Albertans ever think about. Forty-five aboriginal bands, each with elected chiefs and councils, managing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and provincial tax money.

This week, for the very first time, taxpayers and the band members who cast ballots to elect those chiefs and councils are getting to see the financial statements and political salaries for those bands.

The information is being posted to a new federal government website following last year’s adoption of the First Nations Financial Transparency Act that requires that these financial reports be posted online. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, along with advocates and whistleblowers in several First Nations communities, had been calling for this since 2009.

As of this writing, only 9 of the 45 bands in Alberta had their information posted. More are expected in the days and weeks to come, but even this sample reveals some very interesting information.

The O’Chiese First Nation paid its chief, Darren Whitford $164,453, plus $100,778 in expenses last year. Because his remuneration is tax-free, it’s the equivalent of making $250,000 off reserve – more than the premier of Alberta, who will make $217,750 this year. Whitford leads a community of 896; the premier of Alberta governs a province of more than 4,000,000 people.

Ronald Kreutzer, chief of the Fort McMurray First Nation with an on-reserve population of 272 made $156,000 tax-free, plus $108,604 in expenses last year. That’s the equivalent of $387,000 off reserve. Ronald Kreutzer Jr. (presumably the son Kreutzer Sr.) also sits on the band council, making the equivalent of $115,000. A small reserve of 272 souls is bound to have some family connections on council.

The Samson Cree Nation is a bit larger, with an on-reserve population of 6,187. Its council is also a bit lager, with 18 men and women governing the reserve earning between $132,037 and $190,073 a year, tax-free. That’s the equivalent of between $194,000 and $291,000 if earned off reserve.

The real cake (so far) goes to Chief Ron Giesbrecht of the Kwickwetlem First Nation in British Columbia, who took home $914,219 last year. That is the equivalent of making about $1,644,000. Rub your eyes and look at that again. That’s $1,644,000. How many people live on this reserve? Thirty-nine. That’s $42,153.85 for every man, woman and child on this reserve.

How do these chiefs get away with it? In part, because very few people actually knew they made that much. For a lot of bands, politician salaries were a closely guarded secret.

The Squamish Nation in BC, for example, told one of its members that they were “prohibited by law to disclose the specific salaries of individuals.” This was utter rubbish; even if their dubious interpretation of the law was true and didn’t fly in the face of what the federal government said, the chief and council could have waived their right to privacy and released the information.

Thanks to this new federal law, that information will (soon) be online for all to see.

The difference between the salaries of elected officials on reserve versus those in provincial legislatures, reinforces the value of making this information public. In Nova Scotia, a new chief has already been elected leader of the Annapolis Valley First Nation on a platform promising members they could set her salary.

She defeated a 12-year incumbent, and led a public meeting where band members voted to cut the chief’s salary by 60 per cent.

Knowing what we’re paying elected officials is a cornerstone of democracy. Hopefully, aboriginal bands see this new law as an opportunity to grow their accountability to their members and to taxpayers.

Derek Fildebrandt is the Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Jordan Bateman is the British Columbia Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation