In November 2024, the First Nations Infrastructure Institute (FNII) was honoured to attend the First Nations Leading the Way conference in Treaty 6 Territory (Edmonton, AB).
FNII was proud to have collaborated with our conference partners — the First Nations Financial Management Board (FNFMB), First Nations Tax Commission (FNTC), First Nations Land Management Resource Centre, and First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) — in organizing the event.
FNII’s work in supporting community-led infrastructure was discussed in a plenary session that featured community powerhouses Alanea Holmstrom (Osoyoos Indian Band) and Evan Roberts (Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation).
In a breakout session, Evan Roberts was joined by Jesse James (FNTC), Kathleen Stone (FNFMB), and Ian Bear (FNFA). The sessions focused on the importance of infrastructure to support activities on First Nation lands. There was also discussion about how working with FNII and using other FMA tools supports improved infrastructure outcomes.
Alanea Holmstrom spoke about how she invited FNII to work with Osoyoos. “I invited FNII to come down and meet with Chief and Council and we talked about our different developments and where they are at. The big discussion that came out of this was our need for water and how to develop a system that will service everybody and improve the lives of our community members.”
Evan Roberts spoke about how infrastructure will support Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation to take advantage of opportunities: “Well, I know the challenges a lot of our communities face and my community is no different. Just understanding how critical it is to have the proper infrastructure in place to be able to meet the needs and demands of our growing community and the people. And for us to move forward on a lot of the economic but also social development things that we want to do and provide for our communities, that it’s the infrastructure that lays that foundation for us to be able to develop our lands and generate that revenue from our lands.”
Jesse James spoke to how FNTC can support infrastructure: “What the FNTC does is support the capturing of fiscal benefits – things like property taxation or other fiscal tools or fees. These revenues flow to a First Nation so that the First Nation can provide local services including infrastructure.”
Ian Bear discussed how costs of infrastructure projects can be financed through the FNFA: “One of the benefits of FNFA’s approach to these infrastructure projects is Nations using their own local or other revenues to finance that project. FNFA allow terms up to 30 years. This is very useful because a lot of times this is going to match the useful life of the project.”
Kathleen Stone discussed how the FMB supports Nations to strengthen their financial management systems. She commented on how strong financial management is key for an infrastructure project to operate successfully throughout its expected lifecycle: “Being able to plan for all of the repairs and maintenance of that asset, whether it’s a vehicle, whether it’s a building, whether it’s a road, and also to know how long is it going to last, when are we going to have to replace it, and to be able to plan for that, and hopefully save up for that. Having those numbers will really help with planning.”
FNII would like to thank all the panelists for joining us to talk about improving infrastructure outcomes. The FNII team is working with First Nations across the country to advance infrastructure projects. If invited, FNII can join your project team, add some bench strength and work to optimize your infrastructure project business case. Developing infrastructure projects that meet best practices in planning, procurement, operations and maintenance can help your Nation to take advantage of opportunities.
If your First Nation is interested in learning more about FNII, email info@fnii.ca.
