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| Powers
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28. In furtherance of the purposes set out in
section 27, the Commission may enter into
cooperative arrangements and shared-cost
ventures with national and international
organizations to consult on or sell products or
services developed for first nations who have
made property taxation laws.
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| Local revenue
law review
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29. (1) The Commission shall review every
local revenue law.
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| Written
submissions
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(2) Before approving a local revenue law,
the Commission shall consider, in accordance
with any regulations made under paragraph
34(1)(b), any representations made to it under
paragraph 6(b) in respect of the law by
members of the first nation or others who have
interests in the reserve lands of the first nation
or rights to occupy, possess or use those lands.
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| Local revenue
law approval
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(3) Subject to section 30, the Commission
shall approve a local revenue law that
complies with this Act and with any standards
and regulations made under this Act.
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| Registry
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(4) The Commission shall maintain a
registry of every law approved by it under this
section and every financial administration law
made under section 8.
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| Restrictions
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30. (1) The Commission shall not approve
a law made under paragraph 4(1)(d) unless
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(a) the first nation has obtained and
forwarded to the Commission a certificate
of the First Nations Financial Management
Board under subsection 48(3);
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(b) the first nation has unutilized borrowing
capacity; and
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(c) the money is to be borrowed for
financing capital infrastructure for the
provision of local services on reserve lands.
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| Copy and
certificate
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(2) On approving a law made by a first
nation under paragraph 4(1)(d), the
Commission shall provide the First Nations
Finance Authority with
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(a) a true copy of the law registered under
subsection 29(4); and
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(b) a certificate stating that the law meets all
the requirements of this Act and the
regulations made under this Act.
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| Notice of
judicial
review
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(3) If the Commission becomes aware that
judicial review proceedings have been
undertaken in respect of a law made by a first
nation under paragraph 4(1)(d), the
Commission shall without delay inform the
First Nations Finance Authority of those
proceedings.
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| Certificate is
evidence
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(4) A certificate referred to in paragraph
(2)(b) is, in the absence of evidence to the
contrary, conclusive evidence in any judicial
proceedings of the facts contained in it.
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| Review on
request
|
31. (1) On the request in writing by a
member of a first nation, or by a person who
holds an interest in reserve lands or has a right
to occupy, possess or use the reserve lands,
who
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(a) is of the opinion that the first nation has
not complied with this Part or Part 1 or with
a regulation made under either Part or
section 138 or 138.1 or that a law has been
unfairly or improperly applied,
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(b) has requested the council of the first
nation to remedy the situation, and
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(c) is of the opinion that the council has not
remedied the situation,
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the Commission shall conduct a review of the
matter in accordance with the regulations.
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| Independent
review
|
(2) Where the Commission is of the opinion
that a first nation has not complied with this
Part or Part 1 or with a regulation made under
either Part or section 138 or 138.1 or that a law
has been unfairly or improperly applied, it
shall conduct a review of the matter in
accordance with the regulations.
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| Remedy
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(3) If, after conducting a review, the
Commission considers that a first nation has
not complied with this Part or Part 1 or with a
regulation made under either Part or section
138 or 138.1 or that a law has been unfairly or
improperly applied, the Commission
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(a) shall order the first nation to remedy the
situation; and
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(b) may, if the first nation does not remedy
the situation within the time set out in the
order, by notice in writing, require the First
Nations Financial Management Board to
either - at the Board's
discretion - impose a co-management
arrangement on the first nation or assume
third-party management of the first nation's
local revenues to remedy the situation.
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| First Nations
Gazette
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32. (1) All local revenue laws approved by
the Commission and all standards and
procedures established by the Commission
under section 33 shall be published in the First
Nations Gazette.
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| Frequency of
publication
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(2) The Commission shall publish the First
Nations Gazette at least once in each calendar
year.
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| Standards
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33. (1) The Commission may establish
standards, not inconsistent with the
regulations, respecting
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(a) the form and content of local revenue
laws;
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(b) enforcement procedures to be included
in those laws;
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(c) criteria for the approval of laws made
under paragraph 4(1)(d); and
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(d) the form in which information required
under section 7 is to be provided to the
Commission.
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| Procedures
|
(2) The Commission may establish
procedures respecting
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(a) submission for approval of local
revenue laws;
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(b) approval of those laws;
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(c) representation of taxpayers' interests in
the decisions of the Commission; and
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(d) resolution of disputes with first nations
concerning the taxation of rights and
interests on reserve lands.
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| Statutory
Instruments
Act
|
(3) The Statutory Instruments Act does not
apply to a standard established under
subsection (1) or a procedure established
under subsection (2).
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| Regulations
|
34. (1) The Governor in Council may, on the
recommendation of the Minister made having
regard to any representations by the
Commission, make regulations
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(a) prescribing anything that is to be
prescribed under subparagraph 4(1)(a)(i),
paragraph 4(1)(e) or (4)(a), subsection 4(7)
or section 9 ;
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(b) establishing the procedures to be
followed in reviewing laws submitted under
section 6 and conducting reviews under
section 31, including procedures
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(i) for requiring the production of
documents from a first nation or person
requesting a review under subsection
31(1),
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(ii) for conducting hearings, and
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(iii) authorizing the Commission to apply
to a justice of the peace for a subpoena
compelling a person to appear before the
Commission to give evidence and bring
any documents specified in the
subpoena, and to pay associated travel
expenses;
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(c) prescribing fees to be charged by the
Commission for services to first nations and
other organizations; and
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(d) respecting the exercise of the
law-making powers of first nations under
subsection 4(1).
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| Provincial
differences
|
(2) Regulations made under paragraph
(1)(a) may vary from province to province.
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| Authority to
vary
|
(3) Regulations made under paragraph
(1)(b) may authorize the Commission to
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(a) vary the procedures to accommodate the
customs or culture of a first nation in respect
of which a hearing is being held;
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(b) extend or shorten any period provided
for in those regulations; and
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(c) dispense with compliance with any
procedure provided for in the regulations in
the interest of securing a just, expeditious
and inexpensive hearing of a complaint.
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| Inconsistencie
s
|
(4) In the event of an inconsistency between
a law made under subsection 4(1) and
regulations made under subsection (1), the
regulations prevail to the extent of the
inconsistency.
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| Definition of
``Board''
|
35. In this Part, ``Board'' means the First
Nations Financial Management Board.
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| Establishment
|
36. (1) There is hereby established a board,
to be known as the First Nations Financial
Management Board, to be managed by a board
of directors consisting of a minimum of nine
and a maximum of 15 directors, including a
Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.
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| Capacity,
rights, powers
and privileges
|
(2) The Board has the capacity, rights,
powers and privileges of a natural person,
including the capacity to
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(a) enter into contracts;
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(b) acquire, hold and dispose of property or
an interest in property;
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(c) raise, invest or borrow money; and
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| Not agent of
the Crown
|
37. The Board is not an agent of Her
Majesty.
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| Appointment
of
Chairperson
|
38. On the recommendation of the Minister,
the Governor in Council shall appoint a
Chairperson to hold office during good
behaviour for a term not exceeding five years,
subject to removal by the Governor in Council
at any time for cause.
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| Appointment
of additional
directors
|
39. (1) The Governor in Council, on the
recommendation of the Minister, shall appoint
a minimum of five, and a maximum of eleven,
other directors to hold office during good
behaviour for a term not exceeding five years,
subject to removal by the Governor in Council
at any time for cause.
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| Appointment
by AFOA
|
(2) The Aboriginal Financial Officers
Association of Canada, or any other body
prescribed by regulation, shall appoint up to
three additional directors to hold office during
pleasure for a term not exceeding five years.
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| Staggered
terms
|
(3) In determining the term of appointment
of directors, the Governor in Council shall
endeavour to ensure that the terms of no more
than three directors expire in any one calendar
year.
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| Qualifications
|
(4) The board of directors shall be
composed of men and women from across
Canada, including members of first nations,
who are committed to the strengthening of
first nation financial management and who
have the experience or capacity to enable the
Board to fulfil its mandate.
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| Election of
Vice-Chairper
son
|
40. (1) The board of directors shall elect a
Vice-Chairperson from among the directors.
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| Functions
|
(2) In the event of the absence or incapacity
of the Chairperson, or if the office of
Chairperson is vacant, the Vice-Chairperson
shall assume the duties and functions of the
Chairperson.
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| Re-appointme
nt
|
41. Directors may be re-appointed for a
second or subsequent term of office.
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| Status
|
42. Directors shall hold office on a
part-time basis.
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| Remuneration
|
43. (1) Directors shall be paid such
remuneration as is determined by the
Governor in Council.
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| Expenses
|
(2) Directors shall be reimbursed for
reasonable travel and other expenses incurred
while performing duties while absent from
their ordinary place of residence.
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| Rules of
procedure
|
44. The board of directors may make any
rules that it considers necessary for the
conduct of its meetings.
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| Head office
|
45. The head office of the Board shall be at
a location determined by the Governor in
Council.
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| Staff
|
46. (1) The board of directors may
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(a) hire such staff as are necessary to
conduct the work of the Board; and
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(b) determine the duties of those persons
and the conditions of their employment.
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| Salaries and
benefits
|
(2) Persons employed under subsection (1)
shall be paid a salary and benefits fixed by the
board of directors.
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