Canada is similar to Australia in many ways, including its parliamentary structure and large Indigenous population, said Podlasly in his keynote address. “The same challenges I have heard about today are the challenges we are going to get in Canada.”

Canada’s Indigenous peoples, however, have had a voice in the constitution since 1982, he explained. As a result, First Nations rights cannot be pushed aside by the government or any court.

Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada has published research suggesting Canada needs approximately C$2 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) by 2050 to transition to low or no carbon. Indigenous people are a key consideration in deployment of capital, Podlaslysaid, because the government cannot issue permits for development without their consent. He quoted a headline from Indian Country Today – a local digital news platform – which argued that the “only road to net-zero runs through Indigenous lands”.

The potential negative impact of this voice is reluctance on the part of financial institutions to commit to projects because of the risk of delays that could be measured in the decades. Instead, Podlasly added, financiers should recognise the competitive advantage that comes from collaborating with Indigenous people.

With collaboration, projects receive permits and raise capital faster. Moreover, they can benefit from enhanced social licence.

Regarding direct and greater access to capital, Podlalsy explained how the First Nations Major Projects Coalition – and a parallel organisation, the First Nations Finance Authority in North America – allow First Nations communities to access municipal-type funding by selling bonds in the Canadian and US capital markets. “This brings future revenues to the present so Nations can invest in infrastructure projects – providing the project has a long-term revenue stream that can be monetised. This is groundbreaking for Nations.”

Podlasly continued: “We are starting to see a new term: Indigenous investor. My Nation now has a fund, between 3,000 of us, of C$92 million, having started 10 years ago. It is a fund we can use how we want, to make decisions for investments in community, infrastructure or other businesses.”

This “changes the mindset of our members” – who, in some communities, have 92 per cent unemployment – and provides access to capital without having to go through a long government grant process.

Podlasly revealed that the First Nations Major Projects Coalition now has 145 members, all with projects of more than C$100 million being proposed in their territories. “This shatters the myth that Indigenous peoples are against development,” he continued. “They are not – as long as it is smart development that is aligned with the cultural, environmental and economic self-determination values of the Nation.”