Today at school I noticed a newsletter featuring the proposed drinking water bill. Unfortunately, I did not read the entire article but on the face of it, it appears that Aboriginal Leaders want to have a say! I could not believe what I was reading. Aboriginal leaders want to have a say! I am ecstactic about reading this! Here is the article link for that story. This makes me really excited about Aboriginal leaders.

Unfortunately in the same breathe, I read another article (link here) that Aboriginal leaders earn more than PM! That is crazy! I do not know why or how this could happen. This is where Aboriginal leaders need to be held accountable for the decisions they make. If they are going to be in the forefront of decision making in their communities, that includes where money is distributed, then more leaders need to be held accountable for wrongful decision making. For example, there needs to be detailed reports of where the money coming in is going and where it is going. There also needs to be reports on who the money is going to (and not just listing a corporation). There needs to be specifics because the issue with money on First Nations for many is that it stays within the family. Many families can exist on First Nations but the reality of it all is that many of those members are related to one another in some form or another. If one of those members suddenly decides to start a corporation and repeatedly requests money from the leaders/councillors, a detailed report of how this money is going to be used needs to supplied and to whom the money is directly going to and who is making the distributions. I know this is easier said than done.

However, this is part of holding people in power accountable.

Aboriginal leaders need to be held accountable not only for the bad decisions they make but also the GOOD!

I hope that more and more communities begin to see that their problems do not lie within themselves but within their leaders. HOLD YOUR LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE!