First Nations are set to increasingly become equity partners in major projects, a shift that could lead to self-sustaining financial independence, said the chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition.

Speaking at the coalitionSA国际影视传媒檚 annual conference Monday, chair Sharleen Gale, chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation, said itSA国际影视传媒檚 all part of a move toward consent and community involvement being at the forefront of project development.

SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 a new way of doing business within our traditional territories,SA国际影视传媒� said Gale. SA国际影视传媒淲e know our worth, and we know how important it is for us to be a part of our economies meaningfully.SA国际影视传媒�

Industries need to understand that consent and benefit agreements are no longer enough, she said.

SA国际影视传媒淭hatSA国际影视传媒檚 a new standard that industry really needs to understand, that equity is important.SA国际影视传媒�

To make the leap to equity owners will take money, and with interest rates running high, Gale said competitively priced capital is crucial.

She said 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 difficult to get anything off the ground.

The $5-billion Indigenous loan guarantee announced last week in the federal budget is an exciting step to making capital cheaper, she said SA国际影视传媒� the profits of which could be used to fund even more projects.

SA国际影视传媒淎s we lift more Indigenous nations off the ground with the Indigenous guarantee program, you will see that eventually we may not even need it, because weSA国际影视传媒檒l be creating our own source of revenue.SA国际影视传媒�

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

SA国际影视传媒淭o start is hard SA国际影视传媒� this is the hardest part of it, but then youSA国际影视传媒檙e going to get a flywheel effect where youSA国际影视传媒檙e going to reinvest from one project into the next.SA国际影视传媒�

He said the $5-billion federal commitment is a good start, though not nearly enough. He said there are so many projects getting underway, especially related to the energy transition, that will create so many opportunities and funding needs.

Help with financing will also be important in securing proper Indigenous consent, said McKay.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 so important that we do this the right way right from the start, and we donSA国际影视传媒檛 fall into the traps we have in the past.SA国际影视传媒�

Securing proper consent is not easy.

RBC has faced criticism for its funding of both the Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink pipelines, projects that have seen both support and stiff opposition among First Nations.

Both projects have now finished construction and are therefore significantly derisked, helping lower the cost of capital for First Nations to buy in.

McKay said itSA国际影视传媒檚 just a matter of time before there are equity deals announced on pipelines, along with success stories to come from better co-operation.

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e limited ourselves as a country because we havenSA国际影视传媒檛 worked together, and now that we work together, we should take on bigger and bolder ideas.SA国际影视传媒�

The shift in relationships is coming in part because of CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 acceptance of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said Perry Bellegarde, former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

SA国际影视传媒淲e use that free, prior and informed consent clause as a way, and as a tool, to bring governments and industry to our tables,SA国际影视传媒� he said at the conference.

Along with codifying into law the high standard of consent, Bellegarde said it was also important that Canada has rejected the doctrine of discovery, which said any land not yet occupied by Christians was deemed vacant, and so could be claimed by colonizers.

The recognition of the right to self-determination, the right to their own lands, their own laws, is crucial in navigating between growth and sustainability, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淭hat right is so important when it comes to looking at the balance between the environment and the economy, seeking to always balance, to find that sweet spot.SA国际影视传媒�

He said itSA国际影视传媒檚 a good message on Earth Day, to remember that by securing rights, Indigenous people are also seeking to uphold responsibilities, to the generations ahead and to the natural world.

SA国际影视传媒淯s as two-legged have great responsibility to fit into that global family if you will, so that we can have a hope for the future, our children and grandchildren can have a hope for the future.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒擝y Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press