Executive Summary

We need to acknowledge that neither Canada nor First Nations have done this before so there is a lot of uncertainty about how to do it. The government has not set up a clear path and as a result have left the bureaucrats to figure it out. Our job is to move forward on a government-to-government basis. Our people have been clear that we don’t want yet another devolution of services where a whole lot of different BC First Nations agencies are still fighting for government money. (Garry Merkel, FNHIC-BC Chief Negotiator)

The task of creating a First Nations Housing and Infrastructure Authority that is built by First Nations for First Nations and that subsequently is governed by First Nations and delivers programs and services designed to meet the needs of First Nations requires extensive engagement with First Nations people. The FNHIC-BC’s (FNHIC) Engagement Strategy honours First Nations culture and knowledge as its foundational elements. This includes recognizing the importance of culturally–appropriate solutions and the significant role of housing that is embodied in First Nations ways of knowing and doing.

In 2020 and 2021 the FNHIC managed the most comprehensive research project ever conducted into housing and infrastructure in BC First Nations. In March 2020, when faced with COVID 19 restrictions, the team reworked our engagement approach and went online—hiring regional coordinators to help us gather input and gain insight. BC First Nations responded generously. We conducted 9 webinars, 90 feedback sessions, 9 targeted focus groups and two surveys. There were 1283 participants and 138 First Nations were represented. We estimate that FNHIC took part in more than 2000 hours of direct engagement.

In order to understand the scope of the project of transferring housing and infrastructure from the federal government to a First Nations Authority, the FNHIC engaged with First Nations housing and infrastructure specialists, First Nations leadership, Treaty First Nations, the general First Nations population, and a wide range of related entities including: special interest groups, Tribal Councils, First Nations organizations, urban Indigenous housing deliverers, multiple levels of government, and the housing and infrastructure business and professional sectors.

While our report cannot possibly reflect all the input we received, we remain confident we have captured the key elements and many of the complexities and subtleties of our topics.

Phase 3 Engagement builds and expands on feedback we received in our two earlier phases. In 2018, we informed First Nations about transfer and received feedback on governance. In 2019, we shared potential governance models and explored delivery options. Phase 3 dug deeper into many topics and received a more fulsome account of people’s concerns, needs, and desires concerning how the new authority will be governed and what services and programs it will deliver. We also observed some attitudinal shifts in attitudes, including an increased urgency that it is time to decolonize the field of housing and infrastructure, mounting enthusiasm to build a thriving First Nations sector, and an intensified belief that First Nations can emerge from the state of constant crisis and become leaders in the field by working together.

The FNHIC took a regional approach to engagement in order to assess the differences across diverse cultures and territories. All regions spoke to the need to address regional considerations in the production of housing and infrastructure (cost, style, materials, etc.), yet surprisingly the engagement findings were such that there were no regional differences on the significant topics of transfer. The hopes and dreams, the cautions and advice, the innovations and solutions in the end were not regionally specific.