By Anna Guy
T
he fact is, access to capital is critical
to building communities, but his-
torically, First Nations governments
have not had access to the capital markets
or the ability to leverage their own reve-
nue streams. The federal, provincial, and
municipal governments have always had
these abilities, creating an unequitable en-
vironment for economic progress.
The First Nations Fiscal Management Act
(FMA), a First Nation’s led initiative, was
established to put First Nations govern-
ments on the same playing field as other
governments in Canada. The First Nations
Financial Management Board (FMB) is
one of three First Nation institutions cre-
ated under the FMA. The FMB supports
First Nations in building sound governance
processes and provides independent cer-
tification in the areas of financial manage-
ment and financial performance.
Through services and expertise in finan-
cial administrative law, capacity develop-
ment, and standard-setting activities, the
FMB works to empower First Nations
governments as communities to raise
revenue through long-term, low-rate bor-
rowing through mainstream debenture in-
struments on the open market accessible
through the First Nations Finance Authority
(FNFA). The result has been First Nations
governments are empowered to access
108 business elite canada
H
AUGUST 2017
