Valerie Helbronner on First Nations communities’ access to capital for infrastructure projects | About | Torys LLP

With the increased opportunities in Canadian infrastructure projects, First Nations are eager to participate but are facing challenges in accessing capital due to restrictive legislation.

Partner and co-head of Torys’ Indigenous practice Valerie Helbronner spoke with The Globe and Mail and explained that because the Indian Act prevents First Nations from owning their own land, the assets they can use to secure against a loan are extremely limited.

“That is the big thing people talk about in terms of access to capital, that when you apply for a loan you’re not able to secure that loan against your land,” Valerie said.

“More broadly, the Indian Act as a product and tool of colonization, one of its intentions was really to inhibit the ability of Indigenous people to generate wealth.”

Valerie noted that trying to amend the Indian Act would likely. be a slow process and wouldn’t offer an immediate solution. Alternatively, a federal loan program as proposed by the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and the Business Council of Canada would be “a tool you can utilize right now.”

You can read more about our Indigenous work on our practice page