Funding for 191 bands will be withheld
Scores of First Nations fail to report financial information as required
The Conservative government will start withholding millions of dollars in salaries and other funding from nearly 200 First Nations after they failed to publish detailed financial information online, as is required by a controversial federal law.
Under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, 581 First Nations across the country were required to post audited financial statements on the Internet by midnight Tuesday or risk losing nonessential funding from the federal government.
The information to be made public included how much money individual band leaders made during the year, no matter whether the income came from federal funding or the First Nation’s business interests.
The federal Aboriginal Affairs department said 191 — or nearly one-third — had not posted their information as of Wednesday. While more are expected to trickle in over the next few days, the figure is still striking after only 10 First Nations did not comply with the law last year.
In a statement sent by the Conservative party, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said band councils that have not met the deadline will receive formal reminders. But he added that starting this week, funding for non-essential services will be withheld. Other actions, such as court orders, may also be taken.
“All Canadians, including First Nations, want and deserve transparency and accountability from their governments,” Valcourt said.
The law applies “the same principles of transparency and accountability to First Nations governments that already exist for other governments in Canada,” he added.
Speaking in Ottawa Wednesday, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde described the government’s move to withhold funding from First Nations as “heavy-handed.”
“A lot of those people in those communities who need those resources, you’re going to make them suffer,” he said. “That’s what’s going to happen. It’s not proper, it’s not right.”
Bellegarde said a number of First Nations plan to post their financial statements online but struggled to meet the deadline because of the extra work and cost.
Yet he also said some First Nations have questioned why the government’s push for transparency isn’t being reciprocated by Aboriginal Affairs, which held back $1 billion in approved spending over a five-year period. Moreover, he said the law goes too far in terms of revealing personal and commercial information.
Bellegarde said the AFN has no issue with transparency and accountability, but requiring First Nations to post the information on the Internet, “it’s a little too far. It’s a little too public.”
The same is true for band leaders having to report income from private ventures, he said.
“Those two pieces are problematic,” he said. “Why do we have to do that? Why do First Nations have to do that? So the legislation is flawed in that regard.”
The law is currently the subject of a Federal Court case in Saskatoon, where the government is trying to force five First Nations to publish their financial statements online. The First Nations, two of which have launched lawsuits against the government, say the law violates privacy and confidentiality.
Two days of hearings were held in August. The judge has not yet released a decision. One of the First Nations has also written to the United Nations to complain about the law.
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau had previously indicated he would repeal the legislation if he wins the election, though the party now says a Liberal government would review all laws affecting First Nations that were brought in under the Conservative government without consultation.
The NDP originally voted against the legislation, but Leader Tom Mulcair has not said what he will do if elected to power.