Background
A claimed aboriginal custom for the payment of honoraria to
certain band council members did not pass judicial scrutiny in the
recent decision of Louie v. Louie, 2015 BCCA 247.
In 2009, the Lower Kootenay Indian Band obtained $125,000 from the
Regional District of Central Kootenay. The payment was given to the
Band to compensate it for the District's use of a road that
crossed the Band's reserve. After the funds had been deposited
into a general operating account for the Band, a total of $25,000
was paid out to five elected Band Council members. These five
members held a meeting and decided to give themselves lump sum
payments of $5,000 each as "retroactive honorarium" for
their work as members of the Council."1
Mr. Louie, a band member, discovered these payments in 2011 and in
the following year filed a Notice of Civil Claim against the five
council members. Mr. Louie alleged that these five council members
had breached their fiduciary duties "without lawful authority
or without juristic reason."2 Mr. Louie also
alleged that the five council members had "'conspired
together' by acting in bad faith in exercising their powers for
an improper purpose and keeping the payments secret for over two
years, and that they had failed to make proper disclosure and to
follow 'financial procedures pursuant to the Indian
Act.'"3 Mr. Louie requisitioned a
declaration outlining that each one of the defendants had breached
their fiduciary duties owed to the Band and requiring each of them
to return the $5,000 in addition to punitive damages.
The defendants responded by denying that the payments had been
"behind closed doors" and that they breached "any
legal or equitable duty."4 The defendants claimed
that "their decision was 'within the scope of the
Council's duties, done in accordance with the Handbook and the
customs, procedures and/or obligations of LKB governance, and was
in the best interest of the Band.'"5
The First Ruling
At the British Columbia Supreme Court level, the court dismissed
the action and found that breach of fiduciary duty had not been
established. The court found that despite the Band`s lack of a
constitution or financial administration bylaws, the Council's
actions were aligned with the "custom and practices of prior
Band Councils."6 As such, the court held that the
breach of fiduciary duty was to be determined by the Band's
practices over the past few decades. The court noted that none of
the defendants signed their own cheques and that they all voted on
the issue of receiving the payment. The court also held that since
the payments were stated in the Band's financial statements
from 2008 to 2010, they were not kept a secret.
The court further found that the $125,000 paid by the Regional
District of Central Kootenay to the Band was not subject to section
23 of the Indian Act. The court held that since the funds
were "its own 'source revenues'" generated by the
Band, the Band had control over the funds pursuant to section 69(1)
of the Indian Act.7 In addition, the court
established that the classification of the funds under the
Indian Act was irrelevant, and that the use of the funds
was material. It was held that the remuneration to Council members
did not detrimentally affect the Band. With respect to fiduciary
duty, the court held that because the Council did not act in bad
faith, the Band was compelled by the Council's remuneration
decision.
The Second Ruling
At the British Columbia Court of Appeal level, the court
dismissed the first ground of appeal, the onus of proof on a
balance of probabilities, and ruled on the second ground of appeal,
breach of fiduciary duty. The court allowed the appeal and found
that the defendants had breached their fiduciary duty even though
the Council had an "informal and custom-based governance
structure."8 The court determined that there was no
evidence to conclude that the Council had received consent to
exercise this type of power from the Band. Hence, the court
concluded that the Council was not authorized to make these
payments as required by section 2(3) of the Indian Act.
Furthermore, the court, in deciding that the Band had breached its
duty, took into consideration factors such as personal benefits,
benefit to future members of the Council or of the Band, and
detriment to the Band.
The court held that an "informal and custom-based governance
structure" should not deny protection under fiduciary
principles to members of the Band. Ultimately, Mr. Louie was
granted the declaration he sought , the return of the $25,000 to
the Band and given the opportunity to pursue punitive damages in
court.
Conclusion
Although the Indian Act confers powers to Band and Band Councils, there are limitations on those powers. The Band Council can only exercise power with the consent of a majority of the Band members. In this situation, even though the Band Council acted in accordance with the ordinary customs of the Council, the defendants' actions were found to have breached their fiduciary duties. Ultimately, the decision turned on the court's opinion that the decision they made was detrimental to the Band and advance consent was required from Band members in order to make it lawful. Past custom was not a defence regardless of whether it was based on an aboriginal custom or other practice.
1 Louie v Louie, 2015
BCCA 247 at para 1.
2 Ibid at para 2.
3 Ibid. Indian Act, RSC 1985, c
I-5.
4 Ibid at para 3.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid at para 5.
7 Ibid at para 10.
8 Ibid at para 29.
The foregoing provides only an overview and does not constitute legal advice. Readers are cautioned against making any decisions based on this material alone. Rather, specific legal advice should be obtained.
© McMillan LLP 2015