b'ORIGIN STORYNiilo Edwards in 2006. Edwards became a driving force behind the idea that would become the Coalition, ultimately serving as FNMPCs founding chief operating officer and CEO.Harold Calla, executive chair of the FMB, was also instrumental in the Coalitions creation. He joined the effort when First Nations in northern B.C. had negotiated a 30% equity option on the Pacific Trails Pipeline but found they could not secure the financing. The capital markets wanted the rate of return regulated as interest, which would leave nothing for the First Nations, Calla explains.St. Germain approached Calla to explore whether the FNFMA could support access to capital. Together, they began developing standards that could help First Nations and the private sector work together. For one project, there was $6 billion worth of contracts provided to First Nations in their joint ventures for construction, Calla says. There were hundreds of millions in impact benefit agreements. 11% of the workforce was Indigenousand now were talkingabout equity.Initially, the Coalition was not funded federally. With St. Germain lobbying in the background, then-prime minister StephenBUILDING THE COALITION backed loans to support participationHarper allocated resources to start theSt. Germain, Calla, and Edwards travelledin major projects.initiative under the oversight of the FMB.across British Columbia to share theirThey faced early skepticism. But over This led to the formation of the FNMPCidea: a model that would help Firsttime, communities saw that this wasBoard of Directors and, eventually, a newNations access equity ownership,not another top-down program. It was path forward for First Nations participationevaluate environmental impacts on theirbuilt by Indigenous people, forin Canadas resource economy. own terms, and access government- Indigenous people.Among the early supporters was Angel Ransom, now FNMPCs senior vice president of environmental services. At the time, Ransom was a junior practitioner working for her community. It was like six environmental assessments rolled out in three months, which was a pummel of information, she recalls. I heard about Connecting People. the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and this idea of Nations taking the lead Powering Communities.[and] wanting to do better environmental assessments to make better decisions on these projects.The relationships formed across our manyInitially, FNMPC operated as aprojects create employment opportunitiesprogram within the FMB. But it quickly and drive economic growth. Valard is proudoutgrew its structure, and in 2017, it to work alongside Indigenous Communitiesbecame a standalone non-profit. The across Canada. team began developing resources to support Nation-led approaches,valard.com offering legal, environmental, andfinancial guidance tailored to each members needs.16NATIONS FORWARDIssue 12025'