A proposal on resource revenue sharing: A trial balloon

Does Norway have a model for Indigenous wealth management?

Don Wright (right) and Aaron Bruce at the 2022 Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase.

What might economic reconciliation between a provincial government and First Nations look like? Dr. Don Wright, former head of the public service in BC, says one path could involve a 50/50 split of resource revenue.

Dr. Wright, of Global Public Affairs, C.D. Howe Institute, and Public Policy Forum, was in conversation with Aaron Bruce of Aaron Bruce Law Corp during the 2022 Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase (IPSS) session called A Proposal on Resource Revenue Sharing: A Trial Balloon.

During an IPSS Fireside Chat with lawyer Aaron Bruce at IPSS 2022, Wright shared a proposal he says was inspired by Norway, which established a sovereign wealth fund in 1996. By the end of 2021, that fund’s value was $1.3 trillion.

Wright’s proposal involves distributing 50 percent of the province’s net forestry, mining, oil, and gas revenues to the First Nations on whose traditional territories the resources are located, and then allocating these to a sovereign wealth fund that would be reinvested; annual earnings would then be distributed among the Nations.

He suggests that the Nations with overlapping territorial claims agree among themselves how the revenue be shared, rather than having that dictated by the provincial government.

Wright believes this would alleviate some of the problems resulting from having to settle situations on a case-by-case basis, including “truly massive amounts of money spent in paying consultants and lawyers,” stalled developments, and missed opportunities.

Aaron Bruce of the Squamish Nation says that while 50 percent of net revenue sounds great as a concept, he sees that Wright’s proposal raises issues related to authority and jurisdiction.

He also says that while he appreciates Wright’s idea of bringing costs down, there would still be significant funds required for administration. Additionally, he says, while investing in a fund seems like an interesting idea, annual returns might not cover the “big injection of cash” many Nations need now. And that many Nations want to be able to decide on their own what to do with revenues generated on their lands, including using it to develop their own projects.

Wright emphasizes that his idea is not connected formally to the provincial government—he’s “acting as a free agent”— and that this was the first time he floated the idea publicly. He acknowledges that there are challenges with the model when it comes to deciding on what “resources” are. But he says that “I just don’t know of any number other than 50 percent that’s really going to be sustainable.... Think about in terms of partnership.”

“In terms of my motivation for this, I came across a quote a little while ago, and I think it’s a really relevant one to this context,” says Wright. “‘When negotiating, don’t aim for a bigger piece of the pie. Aim to create a bigger pie.’”

Tickets for the 2023 Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase, coming to Vancouver and online on June 1st and 2nd, are available here.

This article was originally published in Rights & Respect, Issue 2. To purchase a physical copy of the magazine, click here. To purchase tickets to the Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase, coming June 1-2, 2023, click here.