How Alberta can learn from some First Nations on how to save oil money

Soaring oil and natural gas prices are expected to help the Alberta government rebound from the $17 billion deficit of a few years back and instead swing into a surplus when the provincial budget is delivered next week.

The rising commodity prices will result in substantially higher royalty payments from the oilpatch, in addition to more funds raised from corporate and personal income taxes.

The unexpected influx of oil and natural gas revenue is renewing calls for the provincial government to save some of the money in its Heritage Savings Trust Fund, which was created in the 1970s to stash away some of Alberta's resource revenue for future generations.

However, the fund has experienced only minimal growth since the mid-1980s as ruling governments have often withdrew money from it, instead of making deposits.

If the current Alberta government is looking for inspiration on how to better save its oil and natural gas money, it could turn to some First Nations in the province.

Four First Nations have their own trust funds after deciding to stash away their own oil and gas cash. Unlike the Heritage Savings Trust Fund, the First Nations have made it a priority to grow their savings while also providing money to the local communities every year.

The Samson Cree Nation, located about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton, created the Kisoniyaminaw Heritage Trust Fund in 2007 with an opening balance of $349 million. In 2020, the fund had a balance of $518 million, while $283 million had been withdrawn by the Samson Cree over the years to support the community, including social programs and post-secondary tuition.

"Any one of our students that wants to go to university, we have a fund available to assist them," said Wilton Littlechild, a lawyer who helped in the effort to create the fund and has served as a trustee.

"It shows that you can actually educate your own people with your own resources without relying on government funding."

While there has been little oil and natural gas development in the area in recent years, any royalty payments from industry are automatically deposited in the trust fund.

The First Nation has used some of those funds to own its own bank, Peace Hills Trust, which at one point, Littlechild said, provided loans to about 400 other First Nations communities in the country. 

Littlechild admits not all of the investment decisions have worked out, but "we learn from our mistakes and we've been able to recover losses over time, so that now, I would say we're ahead substantially."

Like anywhere in Canada, the community still faces challenges with addictions and other social problems, he said. Some of the revenues from the trust fund have gone toward housing, however, homelessness exists because of the community's growing population.

Littlechild is a member of the nearby Ermineskin Cree Nation, which created its own trust in 2011 with $123 million and has earned a 10 per cent annualized rate of return since inception.