Canadian Lawyer InHouse

35 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE MAY 2017 from all across Canada. It is expected that one of the greatest ex- amples of how EDIP can benefi t a commu- nity will be work done in the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation in the coming years. Late last year, the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation signed an agreement with the municipal, provincial and federal governments to build a 24-kilo- metre road connecting their island commu- nity to the Trans-Canada Highway. They see it as a "freedom road" not just for travel but for future opportunities to build wealth. The deal to build the Shoal Lake 40 Freedom road was fi nalized in December and will involve $40 million to pay for a new road. Shoal Lake 40 is a community on a pen- insula near the Manitoba-Ontario border. It became an island more than 100 years ago during construction of Winnipeg's water system, which draws water from the Shoal Lake. To this day, Winnipeg still gets its water from Shoal Lake. After construction of the road, one of the fi rst priorities is to build a water treatment plant so Shoal Lake 40 can lift its nearly two-decade-long boil- water advisory. "They see it [the road] as aspirational and this [EDIP] is the framework in which they can plan their future," says Morry. "Right now, we're looking at all the opportunities once we get access to the Trans- Canada Highway and all of the rest of Canada," says Shoal Lake Chief Erwin Redsky. "We've been waiting for this day for a long time — we've been denied normal economic development for the past 100 years and this road is going to open so many opportunities and partnerships with industry and programs such as EDIP and will open many, many doors. "We're not just building a road here, we're building partnerships. A concept like EDIP is what we're striving for. The road is just the beginning," says Redsky. It's an example of wealth building that Morry had in mind when he launched the EDIP to help generate "own-source" reve- nues independent of government control to improve quality of life and achieve fi nancial independence. Morry says First Nation, Métis and Inuit and their organizations have recognized for some time that they need to generate reve- nues apart from government transfers. Over the past quarter century, many have man- aged to balance federal funding with own- source revenues. And for the fi rst time, it is estimated that collectively their own-source revenues have surpassed government trans- fers as a source of funding. The trend is for indigenous communities to gain even greater ac- cess to own-source revenues as Canadian courts continue to render decisions that effectively require resource and energy companies to partner in their traditional territories. In addition, they continue to grow businesses and develop real estate and infrastructure at a record pace. In some cases, they are also raising reve- nues by sharing the tax base with federal and provincial governments through a regula- tory framework for First Nation tax systems. Through working with First Nations groups over the past several decades, Morry reached the conclusion that lawyers could not do this on their own, so a system to work with others (accountants, consultants, engineers and others) was necessary with a project management system with tools and templates to draw on. The premise is that as governments, First Nations and other indigenous groups need a predictable stream of income to make up for their lack of a tax base. The solution is an institution they own and control aimed at managing that process. "The goal is transforming their current economic development group into one fo- cused on wealth generation and opportuni- ties more broadly," Morry says. Gabrielle Ollinger is director of operations for EDIP. She sees the platform as potentially "transformational" for First Nations communities. Originally from Cowesses First Nation located in southern Saskatchewan along the Qu'Appelle Valley, Ollinger is also a certifi ed aboriginal fi nancial manager and oversees EDIP's project management offi ce. "Communities really need to develop a focused strategy and we're calling that sovereign wealth strategy. In the absence of having one, many communities fi nd themselves being entirely dependent on the federal government for funding and at the mercy of different policies and priorities not set by them," she says. Ollinger used to work in private banking and became interested in sup- porting some of the com- munities in Saskatchewan with community planning and how the bank could support their projects and initiatives. "To me this is probably one of the most ground-breaking and important initiatives in Canada and we're very excited about the privilege to participate and help put shape to the work that needs to be done," she says. "We realized most fi rst nations don't have access to the tools and experts they really need to not only analyze, select and manage their business and investment op- portunities — they really need to take steps forward to generate own-source revenues and really put a plan in place to build com- munity wealth," she says. Gary Kissack is a partner with Fogler Rubinoff LLP in Toronto in the business law and capital markets and securities practice groups. He is also a board director with EDIP. He advises First Nations on the formation of customized economic development groups, I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t HOWARD MORRY, Pitblado LLP reater ac- rce revenues ourts continue ions that effectively for funding and at the mercy policies and prioriti them," she says Ollinger u in private became inte porting som munities in S with communi and how the bank c their projects and initiatives RRY,

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