The next steps in the anticipated Indigenous Peoples Loan Guarantee Program will be announced in next year's federal budget, as promised by the Liberal government on Tuesday in its fall economic statement.

However, industry groups and Indigenous leaders are still awaiting clarifications on whether this program – which the budget overview said would help communities invest in the natural resources sector – will facilitate equity participation in oil and gas projects.

The Major Projects Coalition of First Nations said on Tuesday after the government promised to move forward with the loan guarantee program that it is important for assistance to be available across all sectors.

"We hope to see a program that ultimately seeks to respect First Nations' rights to participate in projects on their lands, as they wish," said the coalition, in a press release, a group that includes more than 130 Indigenous nations working to ensure First Nations' rights. Indigenous communities get a fair share of the benefits of projects carried out on their lands.

Loan guarantees would protect lenders from potential defaults by including a condition that a third party, the federal government, would pay the bill in the event of borrower default.

Ottawa also promises to increase access to affordable capital that Indigenous communities will need to turn investment opportunities into reality.

However, there were only few details on how such a program would work in Tuesday’s economic statement.

"All Canadians deserve to share in the country’s economic prosperity," the document added. The new clean economy opportunities that are starting to emerge offer new ways to enhance economic reconciliation.

The federal government is determined to ensure Indigenous communities can benefit from major projects on their lands on their own terms.

In its 2023 budget, the federal government committed to lending affordable capital to Indigenous communities through the Canada Infrastructure Bank to help them obtain equity stakes in infrastructure projects in which the bank also invests.

However, the Infrastructure Bank only has a mandate to invest in areas such as clean energy, green infrastructure, broadband technology, and transportation.

If the criteria for the Indigenous loan guarantee program are similar, the oil and gas industry could be excluded despite repeated calls from communities to include it.