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In the previous blog I
promised—there’s that word again!—that I would explain what I meant that
Caucasians are not the only ones to oppress Aboriginals. Aboriginals themselves oppress each other, at least, occasionally. The Vancouver Sun (VS) of November 5 &
7, 2014, featured some articles alleging an Aboriginal chief’s mischievous
financial management at the expense of his own people. I refer you to:
“Family
at centre of pay firestorm…,” Nov. 5.
“Reserve
life out of step…,” Nov. 7.
According to the VS, the chief of a very small community,
smaller than my extended family—the band has 267 members, of whom a mere 87 live on
the reserve--, takes home $200,000 a year, while his subjects live in poverty
and hardship, without any development taking place in the reserve. The chief is not
the only one: The CEO of the band’s corporation has earned an average of
$536,000 in the past five years.
Though this may be an extreme case, it is not unusual. I
have many reports like it in my files. Not only that, but during my RV travels
through BC, including the north, I have several times had Aboriginals complain
to me about such chiefly mischief. The
communities are not getting their share in terms of development. For this
reason, the Federal Government has passed a law demanding transparency. Fair
enough, you would think. Who could possibly oppose such a move?
Would you believe it that Canada’s opposition parties oppose
this move? I cannot imagine that! That’s
a requirement for all government spending at all levels! Aboriginals have their own defenders of the
situation. The VS reports that Edin Robinson, a prominent Aboriginal writer,
objects because chiefs are in effect asked “to prove they aren’t liars and
cheat.”! Well, is that so bad? Isn’t
that the point of disclosure? We all know the temptations public money
represents for those responsible for it. Aboriginal chiefs are no exception:
They are as human as the rest of us! So, Robinson is right on.
Of course, the real reason
for resistance to transparency is all too transparent. The scandalously high
salaries of a few elites ruling a community smaller than my extended family are
totally indefensible, especially in view of the conditions of poverty and
neglect that prevail on the reserve. It cannot stand up to the light of
transparency.
The stated reason
for the scandalously high salaries—higher even than that of our Prime Minister
and Premier!—is that it goes counter to Shuswap culture. That may be true to a
degree, but such traditions have developed under conditions of trust, fairness
and equality. When those conditions no longer hold, it is time for serious
review. The source culture of that
money, Canadian taxpayers, does
demand transparency.
I recently attended a lecture in a local church where the
speaker, while claiming not to be defending such practices, tried to explain
that there is a story behind the news that the media do not tell. That story is
that most reserve chiefs and managers are in office for only a few years. This
is their one and only chance to lift themselves out of their life-long poverty.
So, they take advantage of it. I have lived in Nigeria, where this same story
unfolds at every level of government with the result that 80% of Nigerians are
poor in spite of the country’s oil income. Yes, the story is quite understood,
but it is no excuse.
I am not sure who is responsible for this situation. I
believe it is a long succession of Governments that have allowed it to develop.
I praise our present Government for trying to stem this scandalous situation
and am deeply offended by the parties who opposed this demand for transparency.
(I have submitted another version of this post in the form
of a letter to the VS editor.) Am still waiting to see whether it will be
published.)
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