Looking at value-added opportunities
that can reduce environmental
impacts should become a principle to
be endorsed by all sides.
First Nations are looking for significant
economic and social benefits from
these projects. There is a strong desire
to move towards self-reliance and
away from dependency, and there
are some examples that support this
desire. We can point to projects like
the Pacific Trails natural gas pipeline
on Canada’s west coast as a first-of-itskind negotiated arrangement with a
consortium of First Nations as partners
in a project. Although Pacific Trails
was a non-equity arrangement, future
negotiations with First Nations could
produce an equity ownership position
in major project developments,
particularly as court-directed pressure
increases on gover nments and
industry to adopt more meaningful
accommodation approaches.
Governments and industry will need to
be open to such proposals as options
for First Nations participation, and
the necessary financial capacity is
going to have to be in place for these
opportunities to be realized.
In order for these opportunities to
be realized, gaps in First Nations
administrative and financial
management capacity are going to
have to be addressed to support the
evolution of First Nations into the
mainstream economy.
The First Nations Fiscal Management
Act (FMA) holds the tools necessary
t o a d d re s s t h e s e g a p s a n d t o
cer tify First Nations by assisting
with the development of financial
administration laws and financial
management systems. Once rigorous
thresholds are achieved, these laws
and systems provide a means for First
Nations to join an active borrowing
pool in order to gain access to the
capital markets. These tools may be
leveraged on a much larger scale
to provide a group of First Nations
with access to the capital markets
to facilitate equity investment in
proposed projects. The magnitude
of equity that will be required is
beyond the reach of individual
communities and the capacity of the
current borrowing pool, but could be
achieved with the issuance of a federal
government guarantee.
Equity as a mechanism for participation
by First Nations, above all others,
posi ѥ