The five Maa-nulth Nations have joined with the Tsawwassen and Tla’Amin Nations to demand access to the same low-cost infrastructure financing available to B.C. municipalities.
Since signing treaty settlements with the federal and provincial governments, the seven nations are no longer able to obtain financing through the First Nations Finance Authority, but are still waiting on provincial regulation required to access infrastructure capital through the Municipal Financing Authority (MFA).
On Tuesday, as B.C. voters went to the polls, spokesperson Tom McCarthy of Tsawwassen First Nation said the treaty nations hope to get the attention of the incoming MLAs.
“What this is intended to do is get it on their pile and say, ‘We’ve been at this for a while, but we really need your support,” McCarthy said.
He explained that, in 2005, the federal government created the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act, to provide financing for Indian Act nations.
“It had a section that allowed for treaty nations to participate, but only by a regulation of the federal government,” McCarthy said, adding that Tsawwassen has been working since 2009 to bring about the necessary regulation.
“But it requires a lot of work on the province’s side, and to date, we haven’t got their leadership on the file.”
Unlike Indian Act nations, treaty nations have taxation powers similar to municipalities, under the Local Government Act. What they do not have, McCarthy explained, is the ability to securitize those taxation revenues to guarantee low-interest loans.
Complicating the picture, two Maa-nulth Nations, Ucluelet and Huu-ay-aht, are members of Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. But despite the affiliation, they are not able to access loans through MFA, according to ACRD chief administrative officer Russell Dyson.
“The two nations are voting members of the board; they participate in the administrative function, as well as the regional hospital [board], and they are able to participate in other services as they deem appropriate for their nations. But in the legislation that established this, access to the MFA was not contemplated,” Dyson explained.
Uchucklesaht, Kyuquot-Checklesaht and Toquaht are in a similar position.
“We’re members of the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, but we can’t get [financing] because we’re right in the middle – we’re not a municipality,” Uchucklesaht Tribe CAO Scott Coulson said.
Tla’Amin, located near Powell River on the Sunshine Coast, is on the verge of signing a treaty. As part of their respective treaty settlements, these nations receive cash, free-title land and resource rights. McCarthy pointed out that, while these are valuable assets, they do not represent ongoing revenue streams that can act as sureties to borrow capital at optimal rates.
“This isn’t about funding. All we are looking for is the exact same treatment that municipalities in B.C. get and Indian Act nations get to build community infrastructure at advantageous rates,” he said. “If you don’t have this access, there’s a couple of points (interest rate) spread if you have to go to the banks.
“It sounds technical, but it can save millions of dollars, especially given the massive infrastructure deficit that the Department of Indian Affairs has left these treaty First Nations with, through chronic underfunding.”
Coulson said the recent electrification project in Uchucklesaht territory was fully funded through Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, but future infrastructure projects must be paid for in-house. Currently, Uchucklesaht has a major land deal in the works, details of which are still confidential.
“We’re talking millions of dollars that we will have to borrow,” Coulson said, adding that those extra interest points charged by banks could prove to be a deal-breaker if better financing is not available.
“You’re talking the difference of $75,000 per year in interest, versus maybe $60,000, over a 20-year mortgage.”
Uchucklesaht also has a micro-hydro project in the permitting process that could hinge on financing to be economically feasible, Coulson said.
It’s a similar picture in the Northern Region, according to Kyuquot-Checklesaht CAO Gary Ardron.
“At this point in time, we are doing a social housing program through [Canada Mortgage and Housing Social Housing Program], and yes, we are using the banks,” Ardron said. “We do have a couple of infrastructure projects, one being a health clinic and, hopefully, a subdivision over the next couple of years.”
The Maa-nulth Treaty was signed in an emotional ceremony at the old Athletic Hall on April 9, 2009. The hall subsequently burned to the ground in the early morning hours of May 13, after serving as a polling station for the provincial election the previous day.
On Election Day 2013, Andron said whatever party prevailed, the new government must take the necessary action to un-stall the process for the treaty nations.
“The province will have to somehow open the Local Government Act, in some way, so that we will be eligible for this,” he said. “If we had opportunities under the federal [AANDC] program, that would work for us too, but right now, we are not eligible for either.”
