Thank you to the committee members for inviting us to testify today.

I'm calling from the Westbank First Nation in British Columbia.

Very briefly, for background, the First Nations Finance Authority was created under federal law with support from all parties in Parliament. We are a first nations-led organization very much driven by the priorities of the first nations we serve.

Our primary function is to find and secure financing in domestic and international capital markets for first nations. The financing we secure, primarily through the issuance of debentures, is securitized by the own-source revenues of qualifying first nations.

While historically the financing support we provided was primarily for infrastructure such as roads, schools and community centres, we are now in many discussions that are equity-based opportunities that present communities with a path to a state where they would be able to thrive and grow. I can share with confidence that FNFA lending to first nations for equity investments is economic reconciliation realized.

We have followed with great interest the development of the indigenous loan guarantee program that Bill C-69 proposes to create. We are all aware of the vast potential for a wide range of large resources and energy projects across Canada.

Many of these, such as rare earth element extraction and electrical transmission lines, are vital to achieving Canada's clean energy goals in the manufacture of zero-emission vehicles. Others, like natural gas, support the transition to a low-carbon future. All of them have vast potential to support employment and economic development in the first nation communities they touch. FNFA is ready and able to support the desire of communities to participate, thus realizing these important economic and environmental ambitions.

There was a time when a specified number of guaranteed jobs or supply contracts would be deemed sufficient as the benefits that indigenous communities could expect from development on their traditional lands. Today, though, first nations and other indigenous communities want the long-term benefits that ownership brings. They want to be full partners, with both the benefits and the obligations that partnership implies. In other words, they want equity, and first nations equity translates to economic growth and increased productivity for Canada.

FNFA is well positioned to deliver the financing for the large projects that we understand the loan guarantee program is intended to support. Having issued 10 debentures with a loan portfolio in excess of $2 billion and having recently migrated from the municipal to the federal index, FNFA now has access to vast amounts of capital for equity stakes in these projects, and because of the model on which FNFA is based, we can provide capital to first nations at much lower interest rates than they would get from commercial lenders. This means that they can retain more of the revenue their equity stakes generate, resulting in greater financial capacity for vital infrastructure or for programs that communities desperately need. It also means more revenues that they can leverage through the FNFA up front for investment and community priorities.

The current governing legislation for the FNFA, the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, prevents the FNFA from lending to special purpose vehicles, such as limited liability partnerships. Last week we had the opportunity to meet with a range of decision-makers and parliamentarians from all parties. Among the issues we discussed was a regulatory change that would allow FNFA to lend to special purpose vehicles in cases when a federal loan guarantee is in place. This would provide a financing option in circumstances where multiple first nations organize themselves. This would open the opportunity for participation to those first nation communities that otherwise might not have been able to participate.

In this scenario, communities that participate in an investment opportunity will be better positioned for economic growth and capacity building on their own terms. As they advance and become more familiar with us, they will see the potential benefits of becoming certified and obtaining membership.

We see this as a real opportunity that would create wins for Canada and for the first nations. We invite members of this community to support our efforts in this regard.

Thank you. We'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.