This text is part of the special Accounting Profession section
Accountant Jean Vincent has dedicated his career to adapting financial tools to the needs of First Nations.
Although he grew up with a father who was a banker, Mr. Vincent was not predestined for a career as an accountant. After completing his high school studies, he found his calling by working for the National Bank. “I, who had never thought about administration, ended up liking numbers. I started at the bottom of the ladder. But I was more ambitious than that and I aimed more at the top,” explains the man who holds the FCPA and FCA titles.
With a certificate in administration, he was hired by the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, now replaced by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), and Indigenous Services Canada. He then returns to university. “I was married, I had two babies. But I said to myself “if I want to have a career that matches my ambitions, I have to go back to school,” recalls the member of the Huron-Wendat nation of Wendake.
Better access for Indigenous people
It is “problematic” for Indigenous people to be able to obtain financing, summarizes Jean Vincent. And these difficulties arise in particular because of the Indian Act, section 89 of which stipulates that property located on a reserve is exempt from seizure.
Many communities are far from large urban centers and some are not connected to the Internet or cellular network. “And obviously, there are cultural differences which make traditional bankers a little more cautious when they don’t know a market,” adds Mr. Vincent.
It was with a view to facilitating access to commercial financing for members of several First Nations in Quebec that he created the Native Credit Corporation (SOCCA) in 1992. To date, the non-profit corporation has supported approximately 800 projects with more than $100 million in loans, assesses the accountant. “During the first years, we realized that our business people did not have enough money to make a capital investment in their business,” he recalls. In 2001, the Investissement Premières Nations du Québec venture capital fund was created to overcome this difficulty.
In the years that followed, the Aboriginal Savings Corporation of Canada (SEDAC) was founded to support the growth of SOCCA. The organization aims to provide savings and loan products, particularly in the housing and real estate sectors. “In 2005, we made a first bond issue, and the day before, everything was already sold,” says Jean Vincent. To date, SEDAC has carried out more than twenty bond issues for more than $50 million. “And this money was reinvested in the form of funding in the communities,” he adds.
Housing challenges
SEDAC also aims to help Indigenous people become real estate owners. “There are many individuals who have jobs and income, but who cannot borrow to buy or build a house. So, it’s this niche that interests us in particular,” he says.
While financial institutions and governments already offer initiatives to simplify access to property for Indigenous people living on a reserve, these often come with numerous conditions. “Assuming a bank offers a home loan program in a community, it takes an endorser. And the endorser is the First Nation, the band council. It’s a bit like asking the City of Montreal to endorse all the mortgage loans of citizens of the City of Montreal. It doesn’t make common sense,” says Mr. Vincent.
As there is currently a lack of available capital to meet all the real estate needs of Aboriginal people, SEDAC is now working to develop a pan-Canadian initiative in this direction. “People could borrow without going through the guarantee of their band council, it’s a major change,” he said.
A national indigenous initiative
For Mr. Vincent, in the coming years, indigenous populations’ access to capital will mainly come through initiatives coming from the First Nations themselves. He is working in particular on the creation of a pan-Canadian Indigenous Development Bank, which could total $20 billion. “There is a lot of money available, but it is placed in trusts. The idea would be to bring all of this together within an indigenous deposit and investment fund,” he says.
But one thing is certain, the different communities will be at the heart of the realization of these new projects. “In the current context of reconciliation, Indigenous people are no longer waiting. We really need to take charge at the level of the First Nations by the First Nations,” he concludes.
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