The First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is calling on the federal government to fund First Nations infrastructure projects the same way it funds municipal and provincial projects to fulfill its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. A news release from FNFA says this relationship would be rooted in “partnership rather than paternalism.”

First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) is urging Canada to embrace a new and innovative method of funding Indigenous infrastructure based on partnership rather than paternalism to keep its promise to bridge the infrastructure gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada by 2030. "The federal model for funding infrastructure has failed to deliver the housing, clean water and other critical infrastructure that will improve the living conditions in First Nations communities," said FNFA President and CEO Ernie Daniels. "We believe there is a better way, a way that works with First Nations as partners rather than the colonial approach that's rooted in the almost 150-year-old Indian Act."

Today, Ahousaht First Nation is celebrating the completion of their new wastewater treatment plant, located at Ahousaht First Nation's Maaqtusiis Reserve No. 15. This plant replaces the old septic tank treatment and lift station, as well as the old outfall pipe, which was located in an area with a shellfish habitat sensitive to sewage contamination. The old system was unable to properly protect seafood safety and did not meet regulatory standards.