One of the most important principles of responsible government is the full disclosure of salaries for public servants and elected officials. Sadly, this fundamental principle is all too often absent when it comes to Indian bands.

Consider a recent news story out of Alberta. According to information leaked to the Edmonton Journal the chief and councillors of the 360-member Horse Lake Indian band in Alberta make superstar salaries. The chief took home $439,425 in tax-free salary last year (the equivalent of a $700,000 fully-taxable income). Two other councillors were paid just slightly less at $414,500, while the band's Director of Special Projects pocketed $435,000.

To put it in perspective, the Premier of Alberta earned a taxable salary of $121,000 last year and the Prime Minister of our country earned a 'mere' $144,000. Unlike the salaries paid to federal or provincial public servants, the total amount of compensation paid to native politicians and administrators is largely secret. The federal government does now require each band to file an annual listing of salaries paid to chiefs and band councillors. But it is important to note that this reporting process only accounts for monies paid to bands from federal coffers. Many Indian leaders, however, also receive salary, per diems, and other compensation from band enterprises, resource revenue and cash flow from casinos.

The Horse Lake band government is relatively well-off collecting $3.3 million courtesy the federal government and another $6 million from oil and gas revenues. But with so much money consumed by administrative and political salaries, less is available for other needs leaving many reserve residents living in poverty and squalor. In contrast to the big pay cheques for politicians, last year the band spent a measly $2,340 for daycare services, $300 for a prenatal nutrition program, and cut its solvent abuse program. Compare this to the $23,932 the band found to run a golf tournament and $7,019 for a demolition derby!

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Every other week there are new horror stories about abuse of power and misspent money. Patronage, nepotism, corruption, and fiscal incompetence seem to be rampant in many Indian governments. But that's exactly what happens when you give the leaders of any small community with weak democratic institutions, no economic freedom and no opportunity, millions of dollars of other peoples' money.

A few years ago the federal Department of Indian Affairs finally relented to public pressure and began to officially track grievances of mismanagement and criminal wrongdoing by Indian band governments across Canada. Through Access to Information, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has obtained federal documents that reveal a sharp rise in the total number of complaints and allegations logged by the Department over the last three years from 218 in 1998-1999 to 357 in 2000-2001, a jump of 64%.

By this measure at least, financial accountability appears to be getting worse. Fortunately though, more people are starting to speak out. Regardless, all citizens, both on and off reserve, need mechanisms to hold their elected officials accountable. A good start would be to make their compensation more transparent and fair.