Drizzle down economics. With a side of goodwill.That’s how Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Energy Minister Brian Jean are describing a landmark deal to allow First Nations to take an equity ownership stake in a pair of TC Energy natural gas pipelines.That’s because energy infrastructure projects are among the lowest-risk, highest reward investments that will spark economic returns across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan while increasing the economic independence of First Nations across Western Canada.“I would say that taxpayers should rest assured that their liability is a very tiny, tiny risk, but the benefit is enormous,” Smith said. “You can imagine is going to be just a substantial amount of revenues to each community that they can then use for their own priorities. I just think it's a win all the way around.”.In any event, it’s not a handout or a subsidy — but a loan guarantee — similar to ones private companies like TC have received from various governments for decades. The difference is that First Nations communities have not had access to the finds of financing afforded publicly traded companies like TC.And in this case, buying a 5% stake in the NOVA and Foothills pipelines will afford 72 indigenous communities steady revenue streams that will allow them to repay those loans and and generate meaningful benefits that will reduce their dependence on governments that have created a perpetual cycle of poverty for more than 100 years. .That marks true ‘reconciliation’ said Chief Roy Fox of the Kinai Blood Cree — not the kind of “lip service” being offered by orange t-shirts and symbolic gestures by the federal Liberals.“There is no reconciliation without financial independence,” he said. “We talk a lot about sovereignty but there is no sovereignty if we’re not in control of our finances.”Chana Martineau, the CEO of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, added that financially independent native communities will benefit rural areas across Western Canada with jobs, construction, energy investment and even social connections through things like sporting tournaments.“I'm a finance person by background. I'm also First Nations,” she said. “So when you think about your readers in rural Alberta… think about what an arena means to a community hasn't had one. It means that there's a healthy place for youth to go and develop sport. And we all know that association with healthy activities drives a healthier community and healthier individuals. It drives economic opportunities. All of the surrounding communities benefit from that arena. It drives jobs, right from the construction, procurement, even the jobs to concession stands. That all drives productivity into regions that haven't had that, and that is generations of positive change,” she said..“So I want you to multiply that 72 times over and think about the positive impact on all of the neighboring communities and all the communities that your readers live in. More economic impact provides hope for a positive future. That makes for a better Alberta and a stronger country.” Speaking after the meeting — in the elevator — Energy Minister Brian Jean told The Western Standard that native participation in the energy sector ensures its long-term sustainability and provides a leg up on Ottawa’s attempts to stifle it.“It really is the special sauce that holds it all together,” he said.
