If the Idle No More protesters really have the interests of the average native in mind, they would be protesting Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence and the Attawapiskat band councillors.
It has been reported that the Attawapiskat band has three chiefs and 18 councillors for the 1,500 people on the reserve. Teresa Spence earns $70,000 tax free as a chief and charged $8,000 per month to manage the day care. Her partner is the finance manager and is paid $850 per day, tax free.
Another manager is paid a $171,000 salary. The band has reportedly nearly $9 million in stocks and recently purchased a new Zamboni for $96,000. That alone would have paid for new roofs for the whole community.
The band receives millions of tax dollars and still has homes with no heat and leaky roofs. There is a serious problem here, and the only fault of the federal government is allowing the situation to continue.
Canadian taxpayers and on-reserve natives deserve a thorough investigation of funding for native communities.
Gord Marshall,
Kelowna