The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations would like to work with the provincial government to create a resource revenue sharing agreement. FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron says the province has municipal revenue sharing with towns, cities, and rural municipalities, but not with First Nations, leaving reserves to come up with their own way to fund infrastructure, road maintenance, facilities, and other expenses.

He notes that the government often talks about the “Saskatchewan Strong Economy”, but suggests it is largely driven by natural resources taken from First Nations’ ancestral and Treaty territories. In response to the budget released on Wednesday, Cameron says aside from gaming payments, the province reduced overall funding to First Nations by 8.76 per cent.

Cameron states that according to the province, there are more than 80 large-scale project commitments in Saskatchewan with a total investment of $32 billion. He suggests that all of these projects are near First Nations and taking resources from ancestral land and Treaty territories but, not one First Nation has reported a positive experience of consultation or accommodation.