Ontario expanding Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program

Moose Cree First Nation is one of the first success stories under Ontario’s Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program.
A partner in the Lower Mattagami River hydroelectric project, Moose Cree will have up to a 25 per cent equity share in the $2.6 billion project.
“The Moose Cree were one of the first applicants to the Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program and have become one of its first successes,” said Moose Cree Chief Norman Hardisty. “We have entered a new world of business relationships and have developed new and lasting capacity in project finance that will serve the economy of the Moose Cree homeland and the province of Ontario for years to come.”
The project includes the replacement of the Smoky Falls Generating Station with a new three-unit station and the addition of electricity generating units at the Little Long, Harmon and Kipling generating stations on the Lower Mattagami River.
Once completed, the new generating units will produce about 440 megawatts of new hydro power without the construction of new dams.
Ontario announced a $150 million expansion of the Ontario Aboriginal Loan Guarantee Program on July 30 to encourage First Nation and Métis participation in its clean energy economy.