Chief Jim Boucher, Fort McKay First Nation

The Fort MacKay First Nation leader Chief Jim Boucher receives the second highest salary out of all the chiefs in Canada, and is the highest paid chief in the Alberta region. The only individual who made more as a chief was Kwikwetlem First Nation Chief Ron Giesbrecht of British Columbia. Chief Jim Boucher received a salary of $644,442 according to statements which were provided to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. According to the audited statements that were filed Boucher also had a little over $60,000 in expenses for the annual period that ended on March 31, 2014. To put the salary in perspective several of the highest paid councilors in the region earned less than half of what Chief Jim Boucher earned, and some only earned a little over $200,000. Mayor Melissa Blake of Wood Buffalo earns an annual salary of just $127,671.

There are some who believe that Fort McKay First Nation Chief Jim Boucher is overpaid, while others defend the high annual salary and point too a budget in the millions of dollars for the group. The band gets around $2.5 million from the federal government, but this amounts to under 4% of the 2014 budget for the First Nation which is $70 million. The band ended the year with a surplus in the amount of $3 million, and some point out that this shows that Chief Jim Boucher manages the financial situation of the band wisely. Dayle Hyde commented that “The assumption is that First Nations are relying entirely on taxpayer dollars to operate. That’s not always the case, especially for Fort McKay. Our governance structure is a little more complicated than other First Nations.”