Project Reconciliation, an Indigenous-led initiative, is negotiating with the federal government to obtain an equity stake in the federally owned Trans Mountain Expansion project (TMX) and the existing Trans Mountain pipeline. Currently, Project Reconciliation is seeking a 30-er-cent stake in TMX, with revenues being allocated to 129 First Nations communities closest to the pipeline’s route in Alberta and B.C.
Project Reconciliation also plans to use revenues from its stake in TMX to launch a sovereign wealth fund worth up to $1 billion, which would see First Nations communities partner with Canadian corporations to invest in energy transition and infrastructure projects. The sovereign fund would in turn create a growing wealth base for future Indigenous generations.
The idea has garnered interest from a number of Canadian companies that see participation in the fund as mutually beneficial, providing economic stability for First Nations and working toward corporate environment, social and governance (ESG) goals.
Fund managers are already looking to invest in at least two projects: an ethanol plant in the Calgary area, and a carbon capture and sequestration project.
