First Nations on cusp of more self-sustaining project financing

TORONTO — The chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition says Indigenous people are set to become true partners in big projects that will help lead to a future of self-sustaining financial independence.

Speaking at the coalition's annual conference Monday, chair Sharleen Gale, chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation, says to get there though, First Nations need access to competitively priced capital.

She says the coalition came together close to a decade ago in part because First Nations were being offered credit card-level interest rates for project financing, making it hard to get anything off the ground.

Gale says the $5-billion Indigenous loan guarantee announced last week in the federal budget is an exciting step to make capital cheaper and get more projects started, the profits of which could be used to fund even more.

RBC chief executive Dave McKay, in conversation with Gale at the conference, says the country is in the early days, and hardest days, of building that self-sustaining cycle.

He says that by working together, First Nations, government and the private sector can create a flywheel effect where projects help create more projects that help build more prosperous growth.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2024.

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