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Prime Minister Mark Carney brought First Nations leadership and Canada's premiers together in Ottawa on Monday, October 26, for the first meeting of its kind in two decades, with a new First Nations sovereign wealth fund and hundreds of millions for Indigenous workers at the top of the agenda.
The leaders agreed to develop new revenue-sharing mechanisms, including the potential creation of a First Nations Sovereign Wealth Fund, and Carney directed the finance minister to work with First Nations leaders on how to establish it. The goal, the government said, is to give First Nations peoples a direct stake in major projects. Carney said the proposal came directly from the Assembly of First Nations and would let First Nations and their children share directly in the wealth the country is creating.
The fund idea was advanced by the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, whose Chief Joe Miskokomon has argued it would let communities build long-term wealth and develop major projects faster by giving them more authority over investments, rather than routing decisions through governments.
Carney also announced $260 million over four years for a new Partnerships for Indigenous Workforce Readiness Fund, to connect Indigenous peoples with job opportunities created by major projects, and an Indigenous-focused stream of the $8 billion Team Canada Strong initiative to connect Indigenous workers with paid, entry-level trades jobs and get them onto job sites faster.
The government will also amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to expand the First Nations Finance Authority's lending authority, making it easier for First Nations to secure financing to invest in major projects and share in the returns.
Carney further told reporters he would be very open to abolishing the Indian Act if it were done in partnership with First Nations peoples, after Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew raised the request at the meeting. Not every premier attended: Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon stayed away, while Alberta sent representatives.