$25.9 Million In Projects Planned For Onion Lake

$25.9 Million In Projects Planned For Onion Lake

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 14:59

 

 

The second stage of a major capital investment on the Onion Lake Cree Nation is about to begin.

 

The band says it is preparing to begin a $25.9 million investment on major community projects that will create around 150 jobs.

 

The list of projects includes $7.5 million worth of housing construction, as well as $5 million worth of work on roads.

 

Chief Wallace Fox announced today that the First Nation has struck a deal to borrow $20 million from RBC.

 

According to RBC Manager of Aboriginal Banking David Reid, it is the largest deal of its kind that RBC has ever done in Saskatchewan.

 

Fox says the band will pay the bank back over five years through money collected from oil and gas royalties.

 

The chief says his band was forced to make this deal because it couldn’t get the money it needed from Ottawa.

 

However, he says Onion Lake is still hoping the federal government will come to the table.

 

Fox adds the moves are the beginning of positive self-reliance in his community.

 

He says the investment is more than simply fixing up buildings — he says it will expand the First Nation’s overall economy.