In a release published on its website earlier this week, the provincial government announced that applications for the Aboriginal Business Investment Fund opened on 29 June.
The fund provides eligible Indigenous community-owned businesses with up to $500,000 in funding for ventures that demonstrate social and economic benefits for their communities.
This isn’t a new programme. It was implemented in the 2016–2017 budget year by the NDP government. The UCP don’t explicitly say it’s a new programme, but they don’t explicitly say it’s not. To be fair, they do list past projects that have benefitted from the funding, including a project organized by the Piikani and Kainai Nations, here in Southern Alberta.
However, one thing for certain that the UCP doesn’t say in the release is that the $500,000 maximum limit used to be $750,000. They reduced the limit by $250,000 for at least this budget year.
Oddly enough, Rick Wilson, the minister of Indigenous relations, forgot to mention that in the quote he submitted for the media release.
