Ottawa, ON – The National Indigenous Economic Development Board (NIEDB) has released their Recommendations on Northern Infrastructure to Support Economic Development. The recommendations address the significant infrastructure deficit in Canada’s North which acts as the predominant barrier to economic and business development in the region and the improvement of the quality of life in northern Indigenous communities.

“Not only is more infrastructure funding needed. The North should have its own specific strategy based on the recommendations we have developed for the Government of Canada,” said Hilda Broomfield Letemplier, of NIEDB’s Northern sub-committee.

The Board has found that because of the unique challenges faced in Northern regions, large, nation-building infrastructure is required alongside increased investment in community level infrastructure to support Northern communities. Enhancements to transportation infrastructure, improved connectivity and improvements to energy infrastructure are crucial for community and economic development in Northern communities.

The NIEDB is adding its voice to an increasing number of groups calling for new approaches and renewed investment in Canada’s infrastructure. Organizations such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, among others have all signaled a critical deficit in Canada’s infrastructure.

Despite the critical state of Northern infrastructure there is the potential to generate significant net economic and fiscal benefits, while developing sustainable economies. World demand for resources has brought global attention to Canada’s North. In 2011, total mineral exploration expenditures in the three territories were approximately $914 million, representing an 85 percent increase from the previous year.

The Board’s work on infrastructure in the North identified that each dollar spent on Northern economic infrastructure has the potential, if invested wisely, to generate $22 in economic and fiscal benefits.

To fully realise the economic potential of the North, bold infrastructure investments must be made. A report by GE Canada discovered that Northern business and community leaders consistently rank improving infrastructure as the “single most important” criteria for attracting investment and facilitating business development in remote communities.

The report builds on the Board’s research on infrastructure and economic development conducted throughout 2014-2015. Those findings were published in the two reports, Addressing the Infrastructure Needs of Northern Aboriginal Communities Report, and the Business Case for a Northern Economic Infrastructure System. In addition, the Board has consulted with Northern leaders at a roundtable on infrastructure and economic development.

To support Northern infrastructure and economic development the Board recommends that the Government of Canada address three broad areas:

• Coordinate investments in economic development infrastructure
• Increase infrastructure funding and financing
• Support Northern community capacity by funding research and comprehensive community planning

Based on the findings contained in the report, the NIEDB has come forward with the following recommendations. Please refer to the report for full recommendations.

Recommendation 1
It is recommended that the Government of Canada fund a system to facilitate coordination in infrastructure development.

Recommendation 2a
It is recommended that the Government of Canada work with the First Nations Fiscal Management Act institutions.

Recommendation 2b
It is recommended that the Government commission a feasibility study on establishing a Northern Indigenous investment entity, examining the potential benefits of a pooled approach to create a pan-Northern development fund.

Recommendation 3
It is recommended that the Government of Canada designate additional funding to establish a new North-specific infrastructure investment fund, in order to invest in infrastructure to support economic development in the North.

Recommendation 4
It is recommended that further work be undertaken by governments and key Northern leaders to examine alternate private investment models that apply to the North.

Recommendation 5
It is recommended that the Government of Canada consider adopting tax structures that take into account the added cost of operating in the North and would act to level the playing field for industry choosing to operate in the North.

Recommendation 6
It is recommended that the Government of Canada fund a publicly accessible, independent Resource Center to coordinate research into, and share information on, best practices in economic development in the North.

Recommendation 7
It is recommended that the Government of Canada provide dedicated funding and support to Aboriginal governments and Northern communities in order to support comprehensive community planning and provide access to tools that allow proactive engagement in natural resource development.

Northern infrastructure is inadequate to meet the needs of Northern Canadians, and it is limiting our ability to realise the great potential of the North. We are at a crossroads and action is needed now. ” – Hilda Broomfield Letemplier, Northern sub-committee.

Recommendations on Northern Infrastructure to Support Economic Development
The Recommendations on Northern Infrastructure to Support Economic Development build on past research into Northern infrastructure, including the Study on Addressing the Infrastructure Needs of Northern Aboriginal Communities that was conducted by the Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for the North on behalf of the NIEDB. The Fiscal Realities Economists’ 2015 study The Business Case for a Northern Economic Infrastructure System was also used extensively in the development of the recommendations. The ideas and strategies generated at the Roundtable on Northern Infrastructure and Economic Development hosted by the NIEDB in June 2015 were crucial in the preparation of the recommendations. The Board consulted extensively with Northern experts in the development of this report.

 

The NIEDB

Established in 1990, the NIEDB is a Governor in Council appointed board mandated to provide strategic policy and program advice to the federal government on Indigenous economic development. Comprised of First Nations, Inuit and Métis community and business leaders from across Canada, the Board plays an important role in helping the federal government develop economic policies and programs that are coordinated, accessible and responsive to the unique needs and circumstances of Indigenous Canadians.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

David Rodier
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
613-786-9945
david.rodier@hkstrategies.ca

The National Indigenous Economic Development Board is pleased to welcome Darlene Bernard, Former Chief of Lennox Island First Nation, who was appointed to the Board in June 2015.

Darlene Bernard believes that building positive, mutually beneficial relationships governed by respectfulness, true consultation and dialogue are key to the wellbeing and development of individuals and communities.

She served as Chief of the Lennox Island First Nation, a small Mi’kmaq community located just off the north shore of Prince Edward Island, from 2001 until 2013. Before her time in politics Darlene was the Director of Employment and Training Services for the First Nation and developed and implemented important programing to assist adult band members to be better able to engage and experience success in employment and educational activities.

For her full biography and more information on the Board, please consult the following page: http://www.naedb-cndea.com/the-board/.

Op-Ed by Chief Clarence Louie, Chair of the NIEDB , and Dawn Madahbee, Vice-Chair – Earlier this month, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on Residential Schools generated hundreds of media reports and helped focus attention on the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in Canada.

Op-Ed published by the Ottawa Citizen on June 17, 2015

Residential schools are but one example of the many actions that served to strip our communities of their independence and erode our ability to provide meaningful opportunity to generations of our young people.

While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a key milestone with immense symbolic importance, it will have no lasting effect unless we provide the economic tools that our communities need to fully participate in the Canadian economy.

The National Indigenous Economic Development Board’s (NAEDB) vision is for Aboriginal people to be healthy, well-educated, economically self-sufficient and full participants in the Canadian economy. We believe that all of the gains we want to make collectively for the 1.4 million Aboriginal Canadians must be achieved by moving the needle on income, education and entrepreneurship and to close the vast economic gaps that exist between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.

Chief Clarence Louie, Chair of the NIEDB , and Dawn Madahbee, Vice-Chair, at the launch of the the Progress Report during the First Nations Infrastructure, Land Development & Urban Planning Conference (RezLAND) in Osoyoos, British Columbia.

The opportunities for economic development for Aboriginal people today are greater than ever- due to a host of factors including assertive treaty rights, and growing recognition that local communities have much to offer. Success stories include the shipbuilding contracts in Nova-Scotia; the construction of the first on-reserve correction centre in Canada on Osoyoos Indian Band reserve lands; the second largest mall development in Canada by Tsawwassen First Nations; and Air Inuit, which began in 1978 and now employs close to 500 people.

It is estimated that Aboriginal people in Canada will generate $32 billion a year in combined income across households, businesses and governments by 2016 – more than Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island combined.

However, Aboriginal Canadians represent 4% of the Canadian population and their 32 billion in economic activity represent less than 1.5% of Canada’s projected 2016 Gross Domestic Product. Aboriginal prosperity is therefore essential to Canada’s overall prosperity and Canada’s long-term economic success.

In 2012, the NIEDBset a bold goal to achieve economic and social parity between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians by 2022. We pledged to measure the progress every 3 years from the 2012 baseline and to report back to Canadians. This week, the First Report Card was released – the Aboriginal Economic Progress Report.

• The findings show that Aboriginal people in Canada have made slight gains between 2006 and 2011, but significant gaps remain between the Aboriginal and the non-Aboriginal populations – especially for First Nations living on reserve.
• Gaps between First Nations living on reserve and non-Aboriginal Canadians actually increased in terms of employment rate, reliance on government transfers, college and trades completion rates, university completion rates, and crowded housing conditions.
• Inuit unemployment declined to 19.5% in 2011, leading to a two percentage point drop in the gap with the non-Aboriginal population. However, gaps in Inuit post-secondary completion rates increased. Inuit university completion rates remained the lowest at 4.9%, compared to 25.8% for the non-Aboriginal population.
• The Métis population had the highest high school (71.0%) and university completion (12.2%) rates among Aboriginal heritage groups. The average income gap between Métis and the non-Aboriginal populations was reduced by 6.7%.

In short, Aboriginal people in Canada are currently not on track to achieving parity with non-Aboriginal Canadians. The NIEDB is concerned that much of the economic potential of Aboriginal people remains unrealized. The only way forward is through economic, business, education, employment and community development led by strong governance, political will and sufficient targeted financial investments in these areas.

Based on the findings contained in the report, the NIEDBhas come forward with a set of recommendations including specific strategies for First Nations on reserves, education, employment and skills training, community and business development, youth and data collection in order to strengthen policy making.

The Board firmly believes that economic development is the foundation for real reconciliation and true collaboration between governments, private sector businesses and all Aboriginal people. It is clear that there is still much work to be done before Aboriginal people are in the same position as other Canadians to contribute to and benefit from one of the world’s wealthiest economies.

 

The NIEDB
Established in 1990, the NIEDB is a Governor in Council appointed board mandated to provide strategic policy and program advice to the federal government on Indigenous economic development. Comprised of First Nations, Inuit and Métis community and business leaders from across Canada, the Board plays an important role in helping the federal government develop economic policies and programs that are coordinated, accessible and responsive to the unique needs and circumstances of Indigenous Canadians.

NATIONAL MEDIA RELEASE

Slow Adoption of ATRs could waste $50 billion in economic opportunity for Canadian communities
National Indigenous Economic Development Board shows that we need to get serious about our Addition to Reserve Policies

Ottawa, ON – March 9, 2015 – The National Indigenous Economic Development Board (NAEDB) today released its latest report Improving the Economic Success of Urban Additions to Reserves – Achieving Benefits for First Nations and Local Governments. This Report examines the growing trend of Additions to Reserves within the urban context — and concludes that despite the economic and fiscal benefits ATR’s generate for both First Nation and municipal populations — they are being adopted too slowly, wasting a potential $50 billion of economic opportunity for Canadian communities.

“Urban reserves create jobs and revenues that benefit First Nations as well as nearby municipalities, but there is a lack of awareness about these opportunities,” said Chief Clarence Louie, Chair of the Board. “Our report found that ATR’s can take up to 8 times longer than a municipal boundary extension leaving enormous potential benefits off the table.”

“There will be more ATRs in the future – due to claims being settled and population growth.  First Nations across Canada see ATRs as a critical step to improving their economies.” said Board member Chief Terrance Paul of Membertou First Nation. “There are currently 117 ATRs under active review by AANDC, representing billions of dollars of economic opportunity, so we need to get this right.”

NAEDB Studies of Urban Additions to Reserves

An Addition to Reserve is a parcel of land that is added to the existing land base of a First Nation or is used to create a new reserve. Land can be added, through the Additions to Reserve process, in rural or urban settings.

In November 2014, the NIEDBreleased Stage I of its study on ATR’s.  Identifying Success Factors in Urban First Nations showed the enormous economic and fiscal benefits that can flow to both the municipality and to reserve if a number of best practices are implemented.  The six communities included in the study  have collectively created over 7,000 jobs and over $77 million in annual economic activity benefiting both First Nations and neighbouring municipalities.

The ATR Stage II report released today Achieving Benefits for First Nations and Local Governments builds on these findings. It examines 8 urban ATR communities and found that these ATRs generated approximately $285,000 in spending benefit annually per acre of land converted to reserve (and designated for business purposes) and approximately 36 jobs per acre of land converted to reserve.

The Stage II Report also found that it takes on average 4.2 years to finalize an ATR. The opportunity costs of this delay are borne by First Nations and municipal governments as well as their members and residents.  By comparison, a municipal boundary extension takes about 6 months to 1 year to complete.

Based on a review of eight completed urban ATRs, the Study estimated opportunity costs from ATR-related delay on a per acre basis:

• About 123 to 280 forgone person years of employment.
• About $977,000 to $2.2 million in forgone spending related economic benefit.
• About $39,000 to $88,000 in forgone property tax revenue.
• About $100,000 to $227,000 in forgone employment related fiscal benefit.

Potential Opportunity Costs to Canada

There are currently 117 ATR applications for over 22,000 acres of urban land under active review by AANDC. If it is assumed that the economic and fiscal potential of these active applications is consistent with the cases examined in the NIEDB’s research, the total opportunity costs associated with ATR-related delay for these proposed urban reserves include:

• About 2.7 to 6.2 million person years of employment;
• About $21.7 to $49.2 billion in spending related economic benefit;
• About $859 million to $2 billion in property tax revenue for First Nation governments;
• Significant other own source revenues forgone by First Nation governments, like other tax revenues, leasing revenue and net revenue from First Nation operated businesses; and
• About $2.2 to $5 billion in employment related fiscal benefit for municipal governments.

Improving timelines will improve economic benefits of ATRs

In its report, the Board recommends a variety of actions be taken to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the ATR process.

First, it recommends that action be taken to complete ATRs more quickly –benefits can be realized sooner by First Nations, regional economies and local governments if ATRs are completed sooner. “Municipal government concerns can be a source of delay in the ATR process. This has resulted in lost economic benefits on both sides. The time is right to work together as good neighbours to achieve benefits for everyone.” said Chief Clarence Louie.

In addition, municipalities and First Nations need to have better mechanisms for achieving service agreements. Planning and processes related to fiscal revenues should be streamlined to reduce barriers for First Nations achieving this type of revenue.

The National Indigenous Economic Development Board

Established in 1990, the National Indigenous Economic Development Board was created by Order-in-Council to provide strategic policy and program advice to the federal government on Aboriginal economic development. Comprised of First Nations, Inuit and Métis community and business leaders from across Canada, the Board plays an important role in helping the federal government develop policies and programs that respond to the unique needs and circumstances of Aboriginal Canadians.

Stage I and Stage II of the Addition to Reserve studies were developed for the NIEDBby Fiscal Realities Economists.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

David Rodier
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
613-786-9945
david.rodier@hkstrategies.ca