My tax dollars

...hard at work...

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is reviewing Peguis First Nation's finances following complaints by band members about audit practices and the salaries paid to the chief and to council.

[..]

Peguis Chief Glenn Hudson made $174,230 in the fiscal year ending in March. That includes a base salary of $124,000 plus $48,200 in unspecified "other remuneration" that includes fees for meetings and committee work outside band business. It doesn't include $32,000 in travel per diems and expenses.

But Hudson made far less than his four councillors last year.

One band councillor, Glennis Sutherland, made $251,000 and charged an additional $59,000 in travel expenses in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

Fat salaries have been a recurring problem on Peguis, the province's biggest reserve. In his last year in office, former chief Louis Stevenson was paid $240,000 plus a further $133,000 in travel expenses.

Consider that not only are these salaries exceptionally high, they are also tax free.

But the last line of the article is the one that really turns the knife...

The Interlake band has about 7,200 members.

The most expensive constituency in the country?  Maybe.

Comments

[Proof]

I'm all for doing away with the notion of nations within a nation. All people should be subject to the same laws. (Including politicians) You may quote me.

[mikey]

Amen. I was just saying to WW this morning - no more 'status Indian' crap. I'd love to see a government with the balls to tell them: "You have all of the same rights and responsibilities as everybody else. Here's half a mill to ease your transition into mainstream society. Welcome to the 1st world."

[pete in Midland]

personally, I've always been in favour of NOT forcing the white man's world on them. Put a fence around the reservation and have them enjoy sitting in their teepee's and hunting squirrels ...

[Jason Bontrager]

I wonder if they're more expensive than the Innu (http://www.westernstandard.ca/website/article.php?id=296).