I could say a few things about some of the innovations we're looking at in financing. When the minister reported to the Senate standing committee following their report on on-reserve housing infrastructure, she committed the government to look at some innovative financing options that would support the construction of housing and infrastructure.
There are a number of interesting innovations that have already begun. One that we consider best in class in some of the work it's doing is the First Nations Fiscal Management Act. That's a piece of legislation through which first nations can assert jurisdiction over fiscal matters as well as taxation. It also provides a vehicle called the First Nations Finance Authority that allows first nations, through the mechanism of pool borrowing, to raise money in the capital markets. The first bond of the finance authority was issued back in June 2014, and since that time the finance authority has raised almost $300 million for first nations to finance a number of on-reserve projects, including housing and infrastructure.
Now that it has been road-tested, we see this as a vehicle we could be developing further to deal with some of the major gaps in housing and infrastructure. People will look at how we deal with housing now—we're funding homes, but we're not really financing housing. That vehicle, the finance authority, and the other institutions under the fiscal management act would help support more innovative financing structures.