Bill C-6
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1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-6 |
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An Act to provide for an integrated system of
land and water management in the
Mackenzie Valley, to establish certain
boards for that purpose and to make
consequential amendments to other Acts
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| Preamble
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WHEREAS the Gwich'in Comprehensive
Land Claim Agreement and the Sahtu Dene
and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agree
ment require the establishment of land use
planning boards and land and water boards for
the settlement areas referred to in those Agree
ments and the establishment of an environ
mental impact review board for the Macken
zie Valley, and provide as well for the estab
lishment of a land and water board for an area
extending beyond those settlement areas;
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WHEREAS the Agreements require that
those boards be established as institutions of
public government within an integrated and
coordinated system of land and water manage
ment in the Mackenzie Valley;
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WHEREAS the intent of the Agreements as
acknowledged by the parties is to establish
those boards for the purpose of regulating all
land and water uses, including deposits of
waste, in the settlement areas for which they
are established or in the Mackenzie Valley, as
the case may be;
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AND WHEREAS the Government of Can
ada intends to review, in consultation with first
nations of the Mackenzie Valley, pertinent
provisions of this Act in relation to negoti
ations for self-government with those first na
tions;
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NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and
House of Commons of Canada, enacts as fol
lows:
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SHORT TITLE |
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| Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Mackenzie
Valley Resource Management Act.
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INTERPRETATION |
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| Definitions
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2. The definitions in this section apply in
this Act.
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| ``deposit of
waste'' « dépôt de déchets »
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``deposit of waste'' means a deposit of waste
described in subsection 9(1) of the North
west Territories Waters Act.
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| ``environment
'' « environne- ment »
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``environment'' means the components of the
Earth and includes
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| ``federal
Minister'' « ministre fédéral »
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``federal Minister'' means the Minister of In
dian Affairs and Northern Development.
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| ``first nation'' « première nation »
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``first nation'' means the Gwich'in First Na
tion, the Sahtu First Nation or a body repre
senting the Dene or Metis of the North
Slave, South Slave or Deh Cho region of the
Mackenzie Valley.
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| ``Gwich'in
Agreement'' « accord gwich'in »
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``Gwich'in Agreement'' means the Compre
hensive Land Claim Agreement between
Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada
and the Gwich'in as represented by the
Gwich'in Tribal Council, signed on April
22, 1992 and approved, given effect and de
clared valid by the Gwich'in Land Claim
Settlement Act, as that Agreement is
amended from time to time in accordance
with its provisions.
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| ``Gwich'in
First Nation'' « première nation des Gwich'in »
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``Gwich'in First Nation'' means the Gwich'in
as represented by the Gwich'in Tribal
Council referred to in the Gwich'in Agree
ment or by any successor to it.
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| ``harvesting'' « exploita- tion »
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``harvesting'', in relation to wildlife, means
hunting, trapping or fishing activities car
ried on in conformity with a land claim
agreement or, in respect of persons and
places not subject to a land claim agree
ment, carried on pursuant to aboriginal or
treaty rights.
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| ``heritage
resources'' « ressources patrimo- niales »
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``heritage resources'' means archaeological or
historic sites, burial sites, artifacts and other
objects of historical, cultural or religious
significance, and historical or cultural re
cords.
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| ``land claim
agreement'' « accord de revendica- tion »
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``land claim agreement'' means the Gwich'in
Agreement or the Sahtu Agreement.
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| ``local
government'' « adminis- tration locale »
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``local government'' means any local govern
ment established under the laws of the
Northwest Territories, including a city,
town, village, hamlet, charter community
or settlement, whether incorporated or not,
and includes the territorial government act
ing in the place of a local government pur
suant to those laws.
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| ``Mackenzie
Valley'' « vallée du Mackenzie »
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``Mackenzie Valley'' means that part of the
Northwest Territories bounded on the south
by the 60th parallel of latitude, on the west
by the Yukon Territory, on the north by the
Inuvialuit Settlement Region, as defined in
the Agreement given effect by the Western
Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Act,
and on the east by the Nunavut Settlement
Area, as defined in the Nunavut Land
Claims Agreement Act, but does not include
Wood Buffalo National Park.
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| ``Sahtu
Agreement'' « accord du Sahtu »
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``Sahtu Agreement'' means the Comprehen
sive Land Claim Agreement between Her
Majesty the Queen in right of Canada and
the Sahtu Dene and Metis as represented by
the Sahtu Tribal Council, signed on Sep
tember 6, 1993 and approved, given effect
and declared valid by the Sahtu Dene and
Metis Land Claim Settlement Act, as that
Agreement is amended from time to time in
accordance with its provisions.
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| ``Sahtu First
Nation'' « première nation du Sahtu »
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``Sahtu First Nation'' means the Sahtu Dene
and Metis as represented by The Sahtu Sec
retariat Incorporated, a corporation without
share capital under Part II of the Canada
Corporations Act, chapter C-32 of the Re
vised Statutes of Canada, 1970, being the
successor, for the purposes of this Act, to the
Sahtu Tribal Council referred to in the Sah
tu Agreement, or by any successor to that
corporation.
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| ``settlement
area'' « région désignée »
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``settlement area'' means a portion of the
Mackenzie Valley to which a land claim
agreement applies.
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| ``settlement
lands'' « terres désignées »
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``settlement lands'' means lands referred to as
settlement lands in a land claim agreement.
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| ``territorial
government'' « gouverne- ment territorial »
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``territorial government'' means the govern
ment of the Northwest Territories.
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| ``territorial
Minister'' « ministre territorial »
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``territorial Minister'', in relation to any pro
vision of this Act, means the minister of the
territorial government designated by instru
ment of the Executive Council of the North
west Territories for the purposes of that pro
vision.
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| Consultation
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3. Wherever in this Act reference is made,
in relation to any matter, to a power or duty to
consult, that power or duty shall be exercised
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| Delegation to
territorial
Minister
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4. (1) The federal Minister may, by instru
ment in writing, delegate to the minister of the
territorial government responsible for renew
able resources any of the federal Minister's
functions under this Act, either generally or as
otherwise provided in the instrument of de
legation.
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| Included
functions
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(2) The functions of the federal Minister
referred to in subsection (1) include the power
to delegate duties pursuant to section 122.
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| Delegation to
aboriginal
organizations
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(3) A first nation may, in conformity with its
land claim agreement, delegate any of the
functions of the first nation under this Act to
an aboriginal organization designated by it.
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| Conflict
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5. (1) Where there is any inconsistency or
conflict between this Act and a land claim
agreement, an Act giving effect to a land claim
agreement or the Indian Act, the agreement,
the Act or the Indian Act prevails over this Act
to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.
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| Aboriginal
rights
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(2) For greater certainty, nothing in this Act
shall be construed so as to abrogate or
derogate from the protection provided for
existing aboriginal or treaty rights of the
aboriginal peoples of Canada by the recogni
tion and affirmation of those rights in section
35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
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APPLICATION AND CONSULTATION |
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| Application
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6. Except where otherwise provided, this
Act applies in the Mackenzie Valley.
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| Application to
Her Majesty
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7. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in
right of Canada or a province.
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| Consultation
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8. The federal Minister shall consult the
Gwich'in and Sahtu First Nations with respect
to the amendment of this Act.
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PART 1 |
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GENERAL PROVISIONS RESPECTING BOARDS |
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Establishment and Organization |
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| Definition of
``board''
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9. In this Part, ``board'' means any board
established by this Act.
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| Capacity
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10. A board has, for the purposes of its
functions, the capacity, rights, powers and
privileges of a natural person.
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| Appointment
of members
by federal
Minister
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11. (1) The members of a board, other than
the chairperson and any special members
appointed under section 15, shall be appointed
by the federal Minister and, to the extent
provided in Parts 2 to 5, shall be nominated by
a first nation or the territorial Minister or
following consultation with first nations.
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| Alternate
members
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(2) The federal Minister may appoint
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| Chairperson
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12. (1) The chairperson of a board shall be
appointed by the federal Minister from per
sons nominated by a majority of the members.
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| Appointment
by federal
Minister
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(2) If a majority of the members does not
nominate a person acceptable to the federal
Minister within a reasonable time, the Minis
ter may appoint any person as chairperson of
the board.
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| Absence or
incapacity of
chairperson
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(3) The board may designate a member to
act as its chairperson during the absence or
incapacity of the chairperson or a vacancy in
the office of chairperson, and that person
while so acting may exercise the powers and
shall perform the duties of the chairperson.
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| Duties of
chairperson
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13. The chairperson of a board is its chief
executive officer and has the powers and
duties prescribed by the by-laws of the board.
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| Term of office
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14. (1) A member of a board holds office for
a term of three years.
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| Reappoint- ment
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(2) A member may be reappointed in the
same or another capacity.
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| Removal after
consultation
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(3) A member may not be removed from
office except after consultation by the federal
Minister with the board and, where applica
ble, with the territorial Minister or the first
nation that nominated the member.
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| Nominations
by other
aboriginal
groups
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15. (1) In any case where the Gwich'in
Agreement or Sahtu Agreement provides a
right of representation, in respect of a decision
of a board, to aboriginal persons who are party
to an agreement with Her Majesty in right of
Canada for the settlement of a claim to lands
in the Northwest Territories adjacent to the
Mackenzie Valley, those aboriginal persons
may nominate a person for appointment as a
special member of the board.
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| Nominations
by Ministers
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(2) Where a nomination is made pursuant to
subsection (1), the federal and territorial
Ministers may nominate another person for
appointment as a special member of the board
for the purpose of maintaining the proportion,
under any other provision of this Act, of
members appointed to the board on the
nomination of or following consultation with
first nations and other members of the board.
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| Appointment
of nominees
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(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this
Act respecting the number of persons who
may be members of a board, a person nomi
nated pursuant to subsection (1) or (2) shall be
appointed by the board as a special member to
act in relation to the decision referred to in
subsection (1).
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| Conflict of
interest
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16. (1) A member of a board may not act in
relation to an application to the board or
participate in a decision of the board that
would place the member in a material conflict
of interest.
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| Status or
entitlements
under
agreement
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(2) A member of a board is not placed in a
material conflict of interest merely because of
any status or entitlement conferred on the
member under the Gwich'in Agreement or
Sahtu Agreement or under any other agree
ment between a first nation and Her Majesty
in right of Canada for the settlement of a claim
to lands.
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| Remunera- tion
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17. (1) Members of a board, other than
special members referred to in section 15,
shall be paid such fees or other remuneration
as the federal Minister may fix.
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| Expenses
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(2) Such members shall be paid such travel
and living expenses, incurred by them while
absent from their ordinary place of residence
in the course of performing their duties, as are
consistent with directives of the Treasury
Board.
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| Staff
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18. (1) A board may employ such persons
and engage the services of such agents,
advisers and experts as are necessary for the
proper conduct of its business and may fix the
conditions of their employment or engage
ment and pay their remuneration.
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| Sharing of
staff and
facilities
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(2) The boards may share staff and facilities
with one another for the effective and efficient
conduct of their affairs.
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| Benefits
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19. The members of a board and its
employees are deemed to be employees for the
purposes of the Government Employees Com
pensation Act and to be employed in the public
service of Canada for the purposes of any
regulations made pursuant to section 9 of the
Aeronautics Act.
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| Protection
from personal
liability
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20. The members and employees of a board
are not liable for anything done or omitted to
be done in good faith in the exercise or
purported exercise of any powers under this
Act.
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