The Liberals just pressed pause on a law requiring First Nations politicians to disclose their salaries. This sends the message that the government sides more with aboriginal power-brokers than the average people on reserves.

"Make no mistake, the only First Nations who benefit from a toothless First Nations Financial Transparency Act (FNFTA) are the politicians, not average First Nations people," Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said via email.

On Friday, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett revealed the government will drop legal action and stop withholding funds to any First Nation that didn't comply with the FNFTA.

The act mandated band councils provide financial statements, which were then posted online for all to see. The Liberals are now reviewing the whole law. Maybe they'll change it. Maybe they'll scrap it.

This would be a shame. A key way to guaranteeing politicians serve their constituents well is by empowering their constituents with information so they can hold their governments to account.

Because of this act, First Nations members learned a lot about their leaders. Some members of the small Kwikwetlem First Nation in British Columbia even announced they were launching a lawsuit against Chief Ron Giesbrecht after learning he received a whopping $914,219 in compensation in 2013.

The controversial law, which was brought in by the Stephen Harper government in 2013, was opposed by a number of chiefs at the time. Bennett called it "racist" when she was Liberal critic for the post.

However, it was inspired by average First Nations residents who weren't being given this information when they requested it.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation got wind of their complaints and started lobbying on their behalf. Their efforts led to this act.

Plus, according to the indigenous affairs website so far more than 90% of First Nations have disclosed information for the latest fiscal year. The FNFTA is clearly a success. Why nix something that's working?

"This government has been shouting from the rooftops that it stands for transparency and accountability," Wudrick also wrote, "and yet one if its first acts is to stop enforcing a law that has been the single most important tool First Nations band members have had to hold their leaders to account."

Conservative indigenous affairs critic Cathy McLeod tweeted: "They cannot justify keeping basic information away from community members!"

Governments in Canada are increasingly moving towards "open source" measures like this. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself has said he supports more open government.

However, he also campaigned on retracting First Nations legislation put in place by the Harper government that the aboriginal community opposes. But does he mean laws opposed by aboriginal leadership or by regular people on the reserves? It's an important distinction. The answer is unclear.

Trudeau has repeatedly stressed he wants to rebuild a "nation-to-nation" relationship with First Nations. It sounds inclusive at first. But nation-to-nation conversations are conducted at the top level. The average person isn't consulted. They're shut out from the process.

It's a shame that a measure that empowered average people on reserves looks to be the first one the Liberals have put on the chopping block.