Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a couple of things, being myself a first nations person.
I thank the witnesses for coming here and testifying today. This is very important, not just for me, but also for my band members and my home first nation in Muskeg Lake, and also for all first nations across Canada.
We all have a responsibility and we're all elected. But what we've heard goes from one extreme to the other: there are first nations that are accountable to their band membership, but then there are the ones that just disregard the band membership, blatantly not providing any information or any type of financial transparency to their band members.
That's what I find really disheartening. We look here at the issues that are facing first nations, and at the challenges. At times there's no accountability. They're spending at their own rate.
I've seen first nations—for instance, in Saskatchewan, Beardy's first nation. Under one administration they were in the black; now, currently, they are in the red, overspending and not being accountable to the membership.
I look at Clarence—and thank you very much.... I'm going to ask you a couple of questions, and I hope I have my notes all in order.
Here is one of the points I have. I was just talking to my first nations chief, Chief Tawpisin in Muskeg. He says that membership assemblies' auto-presentations are placed on the website's members' section. That's how they transmit their information to the membership; they use the website.
Also, they take an extra step. For first nations members off reserve, they travel to Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert, and through band meetings on the home reserve.... They provide that information to the band members. All they're doing is transferring the data from the auditor's statement at their meetings to their website.
I find it a relief to know that first nations people, especially my band membership, have this opportunity to look at it and do their own examination to see where the funding is going.
Clarence, you mentioned program funding. I have an example here from one of the first nations in Saskatchewan, which is very concerned.
They made a request for $140,000 in funding for the children and community programs, to be utilized by the band through the school—I'm not going to mention what school, but it was approved by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs—in a reinvestment fund; however, to the best of her ability and knowledge, those funds have not been available for the school's use—and this person is the one who wrote and made the funding request—and there has been no accountability.
That's why we're trying to look at the first nations individuals here. I expect first nations individuals.... If the funding is available and it's being allotted for that community, it should be given.
Clarence, you made a statement in 2010 in a Winnipeg Sun article. You were quoted as saying that:
It's very disturbing that salaries could be as high as what has been reported when the majority of the leadership are making an average of $60,000 per year.... It really paints a negative picture when there are many chiefs making good efforts to provide the best leadership for their communities.
In your opinion, if first nations governments disclose this information and provide the opportunity for first nations to demonstrate that the leaders are receiving such a high remuneration, are they outliers?
I'm hoping you can address that question.
How much time do I have left?