INUVIK
The release to the public of the level of compensation received by the executive of the Gwich'in Tribal Council in the last fiscal year has sparked questions ahead of the annual general assembly, scheduled for Aug. 23 to 25.

In a statement released Aug. 12, the Gwich'in Tribal Council stated that the president was compensated with $163,445 in salary and contracted services, plus $47,118 in "other remuneration" and $38,062 in expenses for a total of $248,625 for the 12 months ending March 31, 2016.

In contrast, the vice-president was compensated with $221,283 in salary, $31,954 in other remuneration and $75,376 in expenses for a total of $328,613 for the 12 months in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

The Gwich'in Tribal Council director of communications responded by e-mail when asked why the vice-president, Norman Snowshoe, received a higher level of compensation than the president, James Wilson, who both served 12 months in their positions during the fiscal year.

"The numbers may include GNWT secondment costs, payouts of vacation time and any board-approved executive bonuses paid during the fiscal year," stated Tony Devlin.

Expenses were described as meals, accommodations and transportation.

The news release detailing the executive compensation stated it "is a regular, proactive public disclosure that has been in place for the past nine years to assist in fulfilling the GTC's commitment to transparent governance of the organization and accountability for participants."

Meanwhile, the release stated 10 council members were compensated with honoraria and also were paid for expenses. The tribal council did not break down the numbers by individual council members but stated the total honoraria for council members combined was $95,600. Their total expenses was $118,859 for a combined total just under $215,000.

Not everyone is pleased with the numbers, including the Nihtat Gwich'in Council, which represents the Gwich'in in Inuvik.

President Jozef Carnogursky supports a review of the compensation. He said his council was surprised at the level of compensation, and that some individual salaries and expense claims are more than the Nihtat receive in annual funding at the community level.

"The Nihtat Gwich'in Council would be supportive of the new executive doing a full review of executive compensation to ensure it is appropriate and follows policy approved by the GTC board of directors," he said.

The Gwich'in Tribal Council news release states "the current GTC compensation model was introduced in 2007 and is reviewed and approved by the GTC board of directors every five years, taking into account comparables including other Northern aboriginal land claim organizations, similar-income Canadian corporations, and standard regional cost-of-living increases," it said.

Campaign promise

Meanwhile, the incoming president said that if people want change, that's a thing that can happen. Bobbie Jo Greenland-Morgan said her campaign included a promise to review compensation, as well as policies and other internal procedures, and that she plans to do that with the support of the membership. She also said the compensation numbers are not news to her.

"I agree," she told the Drum. "Those numbers are quite high. There's things that we need to look at."

One of the ways she suggested the organization could save money is decreasing the honoraria for members paid to attend meetings like the upcoming assembly next week.

"Current salaries, structure, and policies are all approved by the board of directors," she said. "They can all change. People need to be talking to their board of directors."

The same theme ran through most of Greenland-Morgan's comments during an interview, not just about people's reactions to the salaries, but also about the annual general assembly itself. "If people want to see salary cuts, then let's make salary cuts," she said. "But we need people to get involved at the local level."

Similarly, she said that often people come to the assembly with every problem they've encountered saved up over the course of the year, eager to demand answers leadership may not have on hand.

"They don't have to wait for the assembly," she said. "We want to focus on restructuring, engaging more communication with our communities, even something as simple as bringing back a regular hard-copy newsletter."

Greenland-Morgan ran for office on traditional values and said she plans to continue with the approach when she assumes the office of president on the first day of the assembly, Aug. 23. She said that in days gone by, chiefs became chiefs because they valued serving their people, not because they got a pay cheque, which indeed many of them did not.

"It's not about getting a cut, it's about building a better organization for the future," she said. "For us to progress as a nation, we need to focus on the positive and be a part of that change."

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