Mark Podlasly says the trend towards investors using Environmental, Social and Governance investment standards, or ESG, is overall a positive trend except for one large problem, they almost completely ignore the input of First Nations. This, he says, makes it much more likely that there will continue to be conflicts over large projects developed on traditional First Nations lands. The Director of Economic Policy with the First Nations Major Projects Coalition suggests that adding a Canadian filter with greater Indigenous involvement on these global standards is an important remedy to this issue. He also tells National Chief Perry Bellegarde why he thinks the passage of Bill C-15, the UN Declaration on the RIghts of Indigenous Peoples Act, is a key to adding more investment certainty in Canada.

Mark Podlasly is the Director of Economic Policy and Initiatives with the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a national collective of over 70 First nations working to ensure they receive a fair share of benefits from major projects in their territories through ownership and revenue sharing. A Harvard graduate, he is a proud member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation of British Columbia.

You can learn more about the work of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition here: https://www.fnmpc.ca/

For more on the work of the Assembly of First Nations visit AFN.ca

The Ahkameyimok Podcast is produced by David McGuffin of Explore Podcast Productions in Ottawa.

And a big thanks to the Red Dog Singers for our theme song, Intertribal.