Mohawk council handing out $500 payments to combat inflation

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Chief Paul Rice explains how money generated through gaming made giving $500 payments to community members possible.

Community members in the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) community south of Montreal are set to get a financial bump in 2026 to combat inflation and rising consumer prices.

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) said on Tuesday that $500 payments will be distributed to everyone on the community’s member registry by May.

“In a time where inflation has impacted our everyday lives and caused immense stress, anxiety and financial uncertainty among community members, this one-time payment provides a meaningful way to support all during these difficult times,” said MCK Grand Chief Cody Diabo.

The MCK explains that the money will come from revenue generated by gaming.

“We wanted to do something that would impact the families directly,” said MCK Chief Paul Rice. “We’ve been hearing a lot about the rise in the cost of living and the increasing impacts of inflation. So, we wanted to do something simple, something that the average family could use, that inflationary benefit to cover whether it’s bills or groceries or unexpected expenses, and that’s really where this initiative came from.”

Rice says that on-territory online and land-based gaming has provided millions of dollars for the council over the past 25 years.

“That’s accumulated over the years for us to generate surplus and allow us to be able to reinvest this money into not just programs and services, but this particular benefit as well,” he said.

Community member Melissa Montour says she was surprised by the announcement, adding that she has never received a cheque from the MCK before.

“The problem with the current administration is that it lacks proper public policy on financial matters, specifically for ‘own source revenues’ to be reported directly to community members,” she said. “We have no idea how much of anything is generated internally, and more importantly, where they put the money or what they use it for.”

Rice said he ran on an election campaign of financial independence and economic sovereignty, and that he pushed to have community members benefit from the community’s financial position.

“We’re a very close-knit community. People are always looking to help each other out, but in the face of inflation and rising costs right now, it’s very difficult to fundraise and to address needs that way, so we felt it was important for the council to step in and provide this one-time inflationary benefit,” he said.

The 12-person council, made up of five councillors (Ratitsénhaienhs and Ietsénhaienhs) and one grand chief (Ohén:ton Í:rate ne Ratitsénhaienhs), voted unanimously for the one-time payments.