“The quicker the private sector embraces [Indigenous 
partnerships], and the government empowers that 
through policy regulatory work and larger capital 
pools, the quicker we're going to be able to rebound 
to thwart off the geopolitical instability that our 
neighbour to the south is creating.”
JP Gladu, Mokwateh
Building Stronger Communities,
TOGETHER
WWW.ESFOX.COM | 905-354-3700
NIAGARA FALLS | PORT ROBINSON | HAMILTON | TORONTO | OSHAWA | KINGSTON | SARNIA | KINCARDINE
Indigenous BUSINESS REPORT   35
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
JP Gladu, founder and principal of 
Mokwateh, an Indigenous strategic 
consulting firm, points to the recent 
Enbridge deals in Alberta and British 
Columbia as good examples of 
successful Indigenous partnerships. “In 
Alberta, it was 23 Nations and in B.C., it 
was 37 Nations that ultimately signed 
on…  around a major infrastructure pipe-
line,” he says.
A member of Sand Point First Nation 
located on the shores of Lake Nipigon, 
Ontario, Gladu is a prominent Indigenous 
business leader with a vast amount of 
experience in the resource sector. He 
currently serves on the boards of Suncor 
and Superior Plus and sits on Domtar’s 
Sustainability Committee, BHP’s Forum 
for Corporate Responsibility, and the 
Major Projects Office Indigenous 
Advisory Council. 
The Enbridge projects were successful, 
Gladu says, because the company 
stepped in and recognized that the 
Nations didn't have the capacity to be 
able to participate within the indicated 
time frame, which is inclusive of Free, 
Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). “The 
most important letter in my mind is the ‘I.’ 
It's the informed piece. If your commu-
nity or communities aren't informed, I 
don't care what culture you are — pink, 
brown, yellow, green, whatever — you're 
not going to say ‘yes,’ because you 
haven't been informed,” Gladu says. 
Many communities lack the capital to 
hire top-notch legal advisors to sit at the 
table with large players like Enbridge to 
ensure they are adequately informed in 
a transparent way. Enbridge took that 
into account. “[They] recognized that 
and supported that process with the 
communities by ensuring they were 
adequately supported so they could be 
adequately informed. The end result was 
37 First Nations coming to the table,” 
Gladu says. 
The Ring of Fire, a major mineral-rich 
area in the James Bay Lowlands of 
Northern Ontario, is another region 
ripe with opportunity for First Nations. 
However, here too, many lack the 
capacity to be adequately represented 
in the incredibly complex negotia-
tions involved, and much will depend 
on the help and support they are 
provided with.
“It goes back to that capacity piece,” 
explains Gladu. “Our communities are 
suffering from a lack of infrastructure, 
clean water, clean energy, adequate 
housing, good food — all these things 
that you know the rest of Canada takes 
for granted — and you expect us to be 
at the table? Well, we're most likely 
going to say ‘no’ because we're not at 
a level playing field.” 
LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAMS
A key mechanism for enabling owner-
ship participation in infrastructure proj-
ects will be loan guarantee programs, 
including those offered by AIOC. 
“Access to capital remains a funda-
mental barrier for First Nations, largely 
due to restrictions under the Indian Act. 
As a result, loan guarantee programs 

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