Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you for the opportunity to address Bill C-27. I rise in support of this bill, but will express some concerns later.
My name is Joseph Quesnel. I'm a policy analyst of Métis descent with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, an independent western Canada–based think tank.
I'm lead researcher on a project that we call the aboriginal governance index, or the AGI, which is an annual consultation of average first nations members in the prairie provinces on their perception of the quality of governance and services in their communities. This past year's AGI reached over 3,000 average residents on more than 30 first nations in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
The AGI seeks an understanding of the views and expectations of first nations people about what constitutes good, effective governance, and provides an assessment of the extent to which those expectations are being met.
The highest-scoring bands in our index are the most transparent and adopt the practice of posting financial information, including salaries, online already. The best bands adopt open-book policies where members can view any information from the band office at any time. I'm familiar with many of these communities.
We have been surveying members since 2006, and it is clear, despite the policies in place, that the disclosure of salary and financial information is still absent in many communities. This is why we support Bill C-27 in providing a legislative base for these policies, not just policies, and some enforcement mechanisms to make the policies real for members.
We argue that first nations should not have to wait for local leadership to grant transparency that citizens should already be receiving. We also believe that band members feel they shouldn't have to wait either. First nations, despite their unique cultures, have clear expectations about governance. They desire and expect highly transparent local governance.
Our prairie-based data confirms this observation. When asked whether they thought all residents should be able to learn how much money is paid to band chief and council members, 77% of all respondents said definitely, yes; only 9% of respondents said this information should definitely not be fully available to anyone who wants it. These are randomized surveys of people from all factions on first nations.
When we asked if in practice everyone in the community who wants information is allowed to learn how much money the band chief and council earns, we were encouraged to find that 35% of respondents told us that the information is definitely available to everyone. However, a troubling minority of 25% gave the opposite answer; that is, the information is definitely not available.
The public disclosure requirements imposed by Bill C-27 would advance transparency in the communities where it is not already practised, which is what we're trying to do. Average members are victimized within a system they did not create, and find themselves unable to change it. They have no well-funded lobby groups. With some exceptions, first nations citizens often lack major independent media sources that can scrutinize band affairs. First nations citizens should not have to pay for ineffective checks and balances on many first nations. We feel that Bill C-27 would fill that gap.
Having this information posted online could also help avoid conflicts in some first nations. Increasingly, communities are resorting to confrontation where disclosure is not forthcoming. A few years ago, members from the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, a Manitoba band near Brandon, Manitoba, operating under a custom election and band constitution mandating financial disclosure, demanded full financial disclosure from their chief and council when it was not coming, and they had to actually physically confront the chief and council to get that information. Luckily, in that situation it worked out. Other communities must resort to Federal Court, which is very costly and divisive in the community. This information being available would potentially avoid these kinds of situations.
As well, band-owned entities must come within these disclosure requirements. According to a 2011 study by TD Economics, economic development corporations are one of the fastest-growing components of the emerging aboriginal economy. If proprietary information is protected, as the minister has reassured us here, band-owned entities should be included in this.
Increasingly in our surveys we are hearing more and more complaints from average band members about lack of information about band-run entities, especially those run off reserves, such as gas bars and casino revenues. People want to know where the money's going and how much people are making. It's important to get the complete picture of how band entities are helping or hindering indigenous progress, and that includes financial information.
In terms of some specifics on the bill itself, members must have access to real enforcement, which in this case involves a superior court. Perhaps this committee could explore using first nations-led independent dispute resolution mechanisms or community ombudspersons for this role, instead of more costly and divisive litigation. That's just something to think about.
Lastly, under the administrative measures—this is more of a question—I'd recommend the language be altered, if I'm correct on this, to require the minister to develop an appropriate action plan before proceeding to any kind of denial of funds to a community. As is, the language, as I'm reading it, reads that the minister could proceed directly to withholding the funds as one of his or her options at the get-go.
I think this would place the government in a potential confrontation with the first nation government much too easily. We don't want to get into a situation like in Attawapiskat, where the courts ruled that Ottawa prematurely adopted punitive measures before exhausting more cooperative measures. We'd encourage that, a more cooperative relationship, perhaps even working towards incentivizing disclosure as another remedy.
On that note, thank you for your attention. I look forward to your questions.