Five First Nations on British Columbia’s north coast have secured the option to become majority owners of one of the most important pieces of Canada’s LNG future.
Through MNT Investments, a partnership of the Gitga’at, Gitxaała, Haisla, Kitselas and Kitsumkalum Nations, the group signed an equity agreement with LNG Canada that gives them the right to invest up to $1 billion for a majority stake in the storage tank at the heart of the proposed Phase 2 expansion in Kitimat. If it proceeds, it would rank among the largest Indigenous ownership positions in any major Canadian infrastructure project.
Ownership is the part that matters, because a benefits agreement pays a community for accepting a project, while equity makes the community an owner of it, with a revenue stream for as long as the facility operates, a voice in the decisions that shape it, and prosperity that carries across generations.
Announcing the agreement, Haisla Nation elected Chief Councillor Maureen Nyce said it “reaffirms our long-standing belief that when Indigenous communities lead, the whole country can thrive.”
Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the partnership “reflects how our new approach is making major projects stronger, with First Nations as partners from proposal to reality.”
Canada leads best as a global energy supplier when more of the value stays and circulates at home, with Indigenous Nations taking their place as partners, investors and owners in the energy the country sends to the world.