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Six Nations of the Grand River 59th Elected Council (SNGREC) lost $4 million running the now-defunct Six Nations Cannabis Commission.
That’s according to the 2025/2026 SNGR audited financial statements recently posted on their website.
SNGREC spent that money forming the corporation and never recouped the costs. During the commission’s roughly seven years of operation, only one business was licensed through the commission – the controversial cannabis farm on Fourth Line, run by Legacy Farms.
SNGREC announced earlier this summer it had repealed the Six Nations Cannabis Control Law and Cannabis Control Regulations, five years after the contentious law passed in 2021.
SNGREC also directed the corporation to dissolve.
SNGREC said it made the decision due to “ongoing challenges…including resources and enforcement.”
Elsewhere in the audit, executive salaries for band council staff have increased to millions of dollars spent annually for 16 senior staff members.
The highest-paid position offers a maximum of $339,600 for the most senior position: the chief executive officer.
That’s at the maximum end of the role’s salary range. The minimum annual compensation for the role is $226,400.
The acting chief executive officer salary range is $195,200 to $292,800.
The chief operating officer is compensated at $168,000 to $252,000.
Other top salaries are the executive director of nation building and executive director of data, analytics and insights, both offering a salary range of $144,800 to $217,200.
The audit does not pinpoint exact salaries for particular executive staff, just the ranges they could be receiving.
A number of other director roles offer $126,400 to $189,600 in compensation.
The absolute lowest paid role is the director of lands and resources with a salary range of $98,400 to $147,600.
There are sixteen senior roles at SNGR earning six figure salaries.
Elected Chief and Council were compensated with $885,604 in salaries, honoraria, travel expenses and benefits.
Base honoraria for chief and council totaled $759,000. Chief Sherri-lyn Hill received $101,745 in honoraria, but with other expenses, her total compensation was $128,044.
Base honoraria for elected councillors is $54,796.
Coun. Greg Fraser took home the highest compensation in 2025/2026 at $76,528 after adding in expenses and benefits.
He was also the most traveled councillor, receiving $19,182 in travel expenses.
That’s more than the elected chief, who received $18,316 in travel expenses.
Elected Council spent a total of $85,406 on travel in 2025/2026.
Councillor Melba Thomas earned the least amount of money, receiving only $56,466 in total compensation in 2025/2026.
Expenses for the past year stayed relatively steady, with only a roughly $3 million increase over the previous year.
SNGR spent $138,799,320 in community finances last year. The previous year, expenses totalled $135,309,518.
SNGR received close to $180 million in revenues last year, an increase from $166 million the year before.
Ontario First Nations Limited Partnership (gaming funds) revenues dropped slightly this year, at $13,596,373 compared to $14,352,815 the previous year.
Salaries were the top expense at SNGR this year, at $74,205,040.
SNGR ended the year with a roughly $32.5 million surplus this year, an increase from last year’s surplus of $23,298,409.
Health Services, the largest department at SNGR, faced a drop in funding from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) this year, receiving $25,951,463 compared to $32,307,299 the previous year.
Social Services received the second-largest ISC transfer, at $22,066,639.
However, health Services got a roughly $5 million increase in funding from the provincial government, at $25,799,702, compared to $20,712,941 the previous year.
SNGR received a total of $134,375,867 in government funding this year, an increase over the previous year, which totalled $121,356,655.
SNGREC is holding a public audit presentation at the Six Nations Community Hall next week at 6 p.m.
Originally published in the Two Row Times, September 9, 2026 (Volume 14, Issue 4), page 1.