The transparent Mr. Trudeau

The job of an opposition leader is to oppose. Perhaps that’s just as true for a third party leader. But Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s weekend announcement that he would scrap the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, and “work with First Nations” to craft an effective but more “respectful” replacement, is curious in the extreme.

Mr. Trudeau acknowledged he was pleased the new legislation had revealed spending abuses, but added: “You can have good outcomes out of bad things.” He suggested the act was being “used as a weapon” against government critics.

Introduced in 2013, the law in question requires that First Nations’ audited financial statements be published online within 120 days of the end of the fiscal year. The recently released first batch revealed numerous examples of leaders making enormous amounts for leading tiny communities.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation reported that Chief Darren Whitford of the O’Chiese First Nation earned more than $265,000 in pay and expenses last year to represent a band numbering 896 members. Ronald Kreutzer of the Fort McMurray First Nation was paid a similar amount as head of his reserve, which has a population of 272. One band paid more than $130,000 to each of 18 council members to oversee a population of 6,187. And in the most-publicized case, the tiny Kwikwetlem band discovered that Chief Ron Giesbrecht took home $914,000 — much of it tax-free — to represent just 81 people. That makes him the highest-paid elected official in the country.

Understandably, the revelations have sparked anger among band members who said they had no idea their leaders were earning so much. Members of Mr. Giesbrecht’s band have requested an audit and demanded he resign. “Every First Nation is laughing at us right now,” said band member Glen Joe. Mr. Giesbrecht is desperately trying to talk down the insurgents. It’s democracy in action, and it’s all thanks to a dead-simple disclosure requirement.

Nevertheless, the act has been criticized as an intrusion into native affairs. Although the federal government spends billions of dollars every year on First Nations, it’s not Ottawa’s place to oversee its use, critics argue. They maintain it is yet another example of Canada’s paternalistic, colonial approach to dealing with First Nations.

Even if this were all true, in embracing this view, Mr. Tru- deau is agreeing to at least temporarily strip away a level of transparency that has allowed thousands of band members to examine their leaders’ spending practices, and ask tough questions about their remuneration, for the first time. And in reality, his pledge to “work with” First Nations to produce a more “respectful” alternative is a promise to return to the status quo; it is one that would benefit the bad apple chiefs at the expense of their members.

The First Nations leadership is a fractious group, as evidenced by the recent resignation of Assembly of First Nations national chief Shawn Atleo over a proposed overhaul of native education. That plan was negotiated at length and in great detail with Ottawa. Mr. Atleo called it “the latest attempt and a sincere, constructive effort on the part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to take a step forward.” But infighting among the chiefs prompted Mr. Atleo to step down, dooming the accord. There is little reason to believe efforts to negotiate another agreement that clearly upsets some chiefs, and could affect some of their pay packages, would have any greater chance of success.

Aboriginal chiefs earning reasonable incomes should have no objection to making them public. It is no more disrespectful to ask the leader of the Kwikwetlem band to acknowledge his pay than it is for Mr. Harper or any of the 10 provincial premiers, or the hundreds of MPs and MLAs whose salaries are on record.

If “paternalism” is at work here, surely it is among those who feel First Nations constituents don’t need the same sort of transparency from their leaders as any other Canadians. Mr. Trudeau’s salary and benefits are disclosed; to his credit, he proactively ordered his MPs to post their expenses online. Why should the citizens of Kwikitlem be owed any less?

It is ridiculous that such a rudimentary democratic mechanism has become such a high-pitched controversy. It’s time to move on. Flawed as the implementation of the First Nations Financial Transparency Act might have been, there is no earthly reason to convene complex, likely doomed negotiations to replace it now that it is in effect and First Nations members have the information they need to hold their leaders to account. We suggest Mr. Trudeau refocus his efforts on measures that would provide all Canadians with more information, not less, about how the federal government spends their money.