B.C. First Nation chief paid nearly $1M last year, Report

The chief of the Coquitlam First Nation whose $914,000 remuneration has sparked outrage says most of it is a bonus for bringing economic development to his people, including an $8-million partnership with the Evergreen Line rapid transit system.

According to a report in The Globe and Mail, financial statements show revenue at $12.6 million for this year, up from $2.8 million the previous year.

Giesbrecht’s salary would be tax-free. And his total pay is much more than what other politicians make. The mayor of Port Coquitlam, a city near the reserve, makes $88,651, according to information released on the city’s website on January 1.

Even in Ottawa, the Parliament of Canada website says Stephen Harper makes $163,700 as Prime Minister, and an additional $163,700 as a member of parliament. That means his total salary is still short of $330,000, less than half of what Giesbrecht makes.

There are about eighty-five people in the Kwikwetlem nation. About half of the group lives in half a dozen houses and trailers on a small reserve east of Vancouver, near the Fraser River.

Giesbrecht lives in a condo on a hill overlooking the valley where the reserve is located.

Agencies/Canadajournal