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Context: Subject Matter of Bill C-45, An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (INAN) - May/3/23

Mr. Gary Vidal (Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, CPC)

04:40:29 p.m.
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Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Minister. It is a good day today when we all agreed to move this legislation forward in the House just before we entered today. I think that's a good thing. Minister, you and I have spoken on several occasions over the last three and a half years about different pieces of this legislation. Personally, I think the concept of monetization is a very positive step for reconciliation across our country. Mr. Daniels from the FNFA on Monday obviously agreed, and I know you know where I'm coming from here. What he said was, “We really believe that the monetization of government transfers, be it a new source of funding or an existing source of funding, will really be a big game-changer when it comes to closing this infrastructure gap.” He went on a little bit later in our hearing on Monday to say, “I'm sure at some point in time that monetization will happen, but I just don't know when. The concept is sound. It works. Every other government does that.” Can you just clarify for the committee whether Bill C-45 actually includes government transfers in the context of the “other revenues” component of that, in the context of what Mr. Daniels is asking for? Also, could you answer Mr. Daniels' question as to when this concept of monetization will be available to be utilized by their organization across the country?

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Context: Subject Matter of Bill C-45, An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (INAN) - May/3/23

Mr. Gary Vidal

04:43:21 p.m.
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Sorry, I think I will move on. That's fair, and I appreciate your response. In that context, again, I want to follow up a little on what Mr. Daniels talked about in the context of this concept. If we can get this concept up and running fully, he put it into the comparison of how many houses we could build, how many water treatment plants or recreation facilities, etc. I have some examples in northwest Saskatchewan that you and I have talked about in the context of investments in an oriented strand board mill, where that equity investment would create significant dividends for 12 first nations in northwest Saskatchewan down the road. If we can get these things going sooner rather than later, for so many people in a riding like mine, which is 70% indigenous, in northwest Saskatchewan, we can create the opportunity, create the jobs, create the economic prosperity that comes with this stuff. It is a way we're going to solve many of these infrastructure challenges. We know the gap is great. I know you've talked about it lots of times. I just implore you and the department to say that we need to move on this. Capital streams are going up 2% a year or something like that. Inflation is going up. Pick a number at this point. We're losing ground on these things. I would just implore you to say that this is such an important concept. I think it could be a very big part of the solution. Obviously, the folks in the First Nations Fiscal Management Act organizations would agree with that.

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Context: Subject Matter of Bill C-45, An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (INAN) - May/3/23

Mr. Gary Vidal

04:46:24 p.m.
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Do I have time for another really quick question?

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Context: Subject Matter of Bill C-45, An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act (INAN) - May/3/23

Mr. Gary Vidal

04:46:27 p.m.
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In an interview with Paul Wells back in February, you talked about economic reconciliation in terms of how it can become a catchphrase. Can I just ask you what you meant by that?

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