how do you spell extortion? OTTAWA — A B.C. First Nations-led proposal to unlock billions of dollars in natural resource wealth across the country has received seed funding from the federal government, The Vancouver Sun has learned.
And if the First Nations Major Projects Coalition can persuade Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to go a step further and accept their biggest request — loan guarantees to allow aboriginal communities to buy equity stakes in major projects — that could lead to a historic breakthrough, say its backers.
The loan guarantee idea has been endorsed by the B.C. Business Council and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think-tank.