Band re-elects chief who took home $1M last year
Ron Giesbrecht, leader of the small Kwikwetlem nation, received nearly twice as many votes as opponent
A First Nation chief in Coquitlam has been re-elected after collecting almost $1 million in income in the 2013-14 fiscal year, including an $800,000 bonus in 2013 related to a land deal with the B.C. government.
Chief Ron Giesbrecht was recently re-elected by garnering 30 votes, compared with his opponent George Chaffee’s 16 votes, in the tiny Kwikwetlem First Nation, which has roughly 85 members. Only about 20 members live on the reserve.
Giesbrecht was not available for comment Friday, although in earlier comments he has said he has the support of band members.
Most of his income came from a 10 per cent cut of an $8-million payment the B.C. government made to the First Nation.
The money was paid to have the Kwikwetlem “extinguish” claims to a neighbouring parcel of Crown land being liquidated by the provincial government.
An analysis of federal government data indicated that Giesbrecht was the highest paid B.C. chief last year, receiving $914,219 tax free, including the bonus, a $4,800 salary and an $80,000 stipend as economic development minister.
After discovering the sale of the land and the $800,000 bonus last summer through documents made public through the recently enacted First Nations Financial Transparency Act, several band members filed a lawsuit in October alleging Giesbrecht breached his duty to “obtain the free, prior and informed consent” of his people before extinguishing a claim to aboriginal title.
The lawsuit was quietly dropped shortly after it was filed, adding to the air of mystery surrounding the land deal and Giesbrecht’s earnings.
Located on Burke Mountain, the land is a 236-hectare plot of former Crown land that was sold by the province to be turned into subdivisions as part of a massive expansion of the City of Coquitlam. The land, near the Kwikwetlem reserve has long been a destination for hunting and berry picking among the band elders.
After the payout, the province sold the land as part of an austerity-driven liquidation of “surplus assets.” As the Burke Mountain lands were not subject to any treaty, the province would have been legally bound to address any aboriginal claim to the land before turning it over to a private buyer.
Giesbrecht’s contract stipulated he was entitled to a bonus equivalent to 10 per cent of all economic activity brought to the community. The chief has said he knew about the bonus when he took over the position, but never expected to receive that kind of money.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said at the time the large payout was “not reasonable” and promised that the government would look after the best interests of taxpayers if First Nations didn’t.
The bonus provision was removed from the job contract in April of last year, according to a Kwikwetlem statement.
Giesbrecht has said he has put in 12 new housing units, a new road, underground power, set up a new health program and new programs for elders and youth.
After the controversy broke last summer, various band members posted videos supporting the embattled chief.
“This should be a do- good story, but somehow or another, it’s been turned around to ‘somebody’s taking more than their share,’ ” said Mark Point, a former band administrator who said Giesbrecht has dramatically improved local living conditions without incurring deficits.
“Believe me, if we were looking at the corporations outside and what those people are taking, we’re small peanuts,” he said.
According to documents obtained by the National Post, Giesbrecht, who grew up in the Coquitlam area, returned to B.C. only in recent years after a career in Alberta.
The documents indicate Giesbrecht incorporated a company in Alberta in 1998 with his brother, Randy. Within two years, the company had failed to file official returns with the province of Alberta and was disbanded.
“I worked in construction for 21 years before I became chief. More than 15 years of that was running my own businesses,” Giesbrecht wrote in a statement to the National Post.