Canada’s First Nations are boosting investments and leveraging their clout with regulators to gain stakes in oil and gas projects. CALGARY, Alberta, March 2 (Reuters) – Canada’s First Nations are boosting investments and leveraging their clout with regulators to gain stakes in oil and gas projects as they seek greater returns on energy produced or transported across their territory. Aboriginal groups in Canada have traditionally played a more passive role in the energy industry, collecting royalties from oil and gas output. That model is changing as some indigenous groups buy oil wells and negotiate ownership stakes in proposed pipelines and storage projects. “It’s assets that create cash flow,” said Joe Dion, Chief Executive of First Nations-owned Frog Lake Energy Resources Corp, which produces 2,000 barrels of oil per day. “We get a piece of the action.” First Nations, also called bands, play a pivotal role in Canada’s oil industry […]