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Bill C-6

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	General Powers
Decision by majority	21. (1) A decision of a majority of the members of a board present at a meeting is a decision of the board.
Participation by telephone	(2) Subject to the by-laws of a board, any member may participate in a meeting by means of telephone or other communications facilities that are likely to enable all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other, and a member so participating is deemed to be present at the meeting.
Government information	22. Subject to any other federal or territorial law, a board may obtain from any department or agency of the federal or territorial government any information in the possession of the department or agency that the board requires for the performance of its functions.
Enforcement of orders	23. A decision or order of a board may be made an order of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories by the filing of a certified copy of it with the registrar of the Court, and a decision or order so filed is enforceable in the same manner as an order of that Court.
Hearings	24. (1) In addition to hearings that a board is authorized or required to hold under this Act, a board may conduct any hearings that it considers to be desirable for the purpose of carrying out any of its functions.
Coordination	(2) Subject to this Act, the boards shall coordinate their respective hearings in order to avoid duplication.
Judicial powers of a board	25. In proceedings before a board established under Part 3, 4 or 5, the board has the powers, rights and privileges of a superior court with respect to the attendance and examination of witnesses and the production and inspection of documents.
	Financial Provisions
Annual budget	26. (1) A board shall in each year submit for the consideration of the federal Minister an operating budget for the following fiscal year.
Accounts	(2) A board shall maintain books of account and related records in accordance with accounting principles recommended by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants or its successor.
Consolidated financial statements	(3) A board shall annually prepare consolidated financial statements in accordance with the accounting principles referred to in subsection (2) and shall include in them such supporting information or statements as are required.
Audit	(4) The accounts, financial statements and financial transactions of a board may be audited by the Auditor General of Canada, who shall make a report of the audit to the board, which shall transmit the report to the federal Minister.
Funding	(5) The federal Minister may establish funding arrangements with each board specifying the manner in which funding will be made available pursuant to a budget approved by the federal Minister.
Payment of fees	27. Fees paid pursuant to any provision of this Act or the regulations shall be deposited to the credit of the Receiver General.
	Reports
Annual report	28. (1) A board shall, within three months after the end of each fiscal year, submit to the federal Minister, in such form as the Minister may specify, a report on the activities of the board in that year including its financial statements for the year.
Publication	(2) The federal Minister shall make the annual report of a board available to the public.
	By-laws, Rules and Other Instruments
By-laws	29. A board may make by-laws respecting the conduct and management of its internal administrative affairs, including by-laws providing for the maintenance at its office of the minutes of its meetings.
Rules	30. (1) Subject to any other provisions of this Act, a board may make rules
	(a) respecting its practice and procedure in relation to applications to the board and their disposition, including the service of documents, the imposition of reasonable time limits and the submission of comments by the public; and
	(b) for preventing trade secrets and information described in section 20 of the Access to Information Act from being disclosed or made public as a result of their being used as evidence before the board, including rules providing for hearings to be held in private.
Publication of notice	(2) Before making rules under this section, a board shall publish notice of its intention in the Canada Gazette and in a newspaper circulated in the Mackenzie Valley, inviting interested persons to submit written representations to the board with respect to the proposed rules within thirty days after the publication of notice.
No further notice	(3) Where notice is published under subsection (2), further notice need not be published if the proposed rules are amended solely in response to representations submitted to the board.
Statutory Instruments Act	31. (1) Sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act do not apply in respect of rules under section 30, a land use plan or amendment thereto under Part 2, rules under subsection 49(2), guidelines or policies under section 65, policy directions under subsection 82(1), directions under section 106 or guidelines under section 120.
Notice in Canada Gazette	(2) A notice shall be published in the Canada Gazette immediately after policy directions are received by a board, a land use plan or amendment thereto is approved, or any other instrument referred to in subsection (1) is made or issued, stating that copies thereof are available to the public at the main office of the board and at such other locations as the board considers appropriate.
	Judicial Review
Jurisdiction	32. Notwithstanding the exclusive jurisdiction referred to in section 18 of the Federal Court Act, the Attorney General of Canada or anyone directly affected by the matter in respect of which relief is sought may make an application to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories for any relief against a board by way of an injunction or declaration or by way of an order in the nature of certiorari, mandamus, quo warranto or prohibition.
	PART 2
	LAND USE PLANNING
	Interpretation and Application
Definition of ``planning board''	33. In this Part, ``planning board'' means the Gwich'in Land Use Planning Board or the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board established by sections 36 and 38, respectively.
Application of Part 2	34. Subject to subsection 46(2), this Part does not apply in respect of lands in a settlement area that comprise a national park to which the National Parks Act applies, that have been acquired pursuant to the Historic Sites and Monuments Act or that are situated within the boundaries of a local government.
Guiding principles	35. Land use planning for a settlement area shall be guided by the following principles:
	(a) the purpose of land use planning is to protect and promote the social, cultural and economic well-being of residents and communities in the settlement area, having regard to the interests of all Canadians;
	(b) special attention shall be devoted to the rights of the Gwich'in and Sahtu First Nations under their land claim agreements, to protecting and promoting their social, cultural and economic well-being and to the lands used by them for wildlife harvesting and other resource uses; and
	(c) land use planning must involve the participation of the first nation and of residents and communities in the settlement area.
	Gwich'in Land Use Planning Board
Board established	36. (1) There is hereby established, in respect of the settlement area referred to in the Gwich'in Agreement, a board to be known as the Gwich'in Land Use Planning Board.
Membership	(2) The Board shall consist of five members including, apart from the chairperson, two members appointed on the nomination of the Gwich'in First Nation and one member appointed on the nomination of the territorial Minister.
Quorum	(3) A quorum of the Board consists of three members, including one of the members appointed on the nomination of the Gwich'in First Nation and one of the members not so appointed other than the chairperson.
Main office	37. The main office of the Board shall be located in the settlement area referred to in the Gwich'in Agreement.
	Sahtu Land Use Planning Board
Board established	38. (1) There is hereby established, in respect of the settlement area referred to in the Sahtu Agreement, a board to be known as the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board.
Membership	(2) The Board shall consist of five members including, apart from the chairperson, two members appointed on the nomination of the Sahtu First Nation and one member appointed on the nomination of the territorial Minister.
Quorum	(3) A quorum of the Board consists of three members, including one of the members appointed on the nomination of the Sahtu First Nation and one of the members not so appointed other than the chairperson.
Main office	39. The main office of the Board shall be located in the settlement area referred to in the Sahtu Agreement.
	Land Use Planning
Objectives and other factors	40. The planning board for a settlement area shall, after consultation with the federal Minister, the territorial Minister and the first nation of the settlement area, determine the objectives to be considered and the other factors to be taken into account in the preparation of a land use plan for the settlement area.
Preparation of land use plan	41. (1) A planning board shall prepare and adopt a land use plan for submission and approval under section 43.
Purpose of land use plan	(2) A land use plan shall provide for the conservation, development and use of land, waters and other resources in a settlement area.
Contents of land use plan	(3) A land use plan may include
	(a) maps, diagrams and other graphic materials;
	(b) written statements, policies, guidelines and forecasts;
	(c) descriptions of permitted and prohibited uses of land, waters and resources;
	(d) authority for the planning board to make exceptions to the plan and the manner of exercising that authority; and
	(e) any other information that the planning board considers appropriate.
Settlement lands	(4) A planning board shall take into consideration a land use plan proposed by the first nation for its settlement lands in the settlement area, and may incorporate that plan into the land use plan for the settlement area.
Public notice	42. (1) A planning board shall publish in the settlement area and in adjoining settlement areas in the Mackenzie Valley a notice inviting interested persons to examine at specified times and places a draft of the land use plan prepared by it.
Public hearings	(2) A planning board may hold public hearings in relation to a proposed land use plan after publishing in the settlement area and in adjoining settlement areas in the Mackenzie Valley a notice specifying the times and places of the hearings and the procedure to be followed.
Submission to first nation and Ministers	43. (1) Following the adoption of a land use plan, the planning board shall submit it to the first nation of the settlement area, the territorial Minister and the federal Minister.
Approval by first nation	(2) Where a first nation approves a land use plan, it shall notify the federal Minister and the territorial Minister in writing of the approval.
Territorial approval	(3) On being notified pursuant to subsection (2), the territorial Minister may approve the land use plan, and in that case shall notify the first nation and the federal Minister in writing.
Federal approval	(4) On being notified under subsections (2) and (3), the federal Minister may approve the land use plan, which takes effect on the date of its approval by the federal Minister.
Objections to plan	(5) Where a party to which a land use plan is submitted does not approve the plan, that party shall notify the other parties and the planning board, in writing, of the reasons for not approving the plan.
Reconsiderati on of plan	(6) After a planning board has considered any reasons provided to it under subsection (5) and made any modifications to the land use plan that it considers desirable, it shall submit the plan for approval as provided in subsection (1).
Functions after plan approval	44. Subsequent to the approval of a land use plan, a planning board shall
	(a) monitor the implementation of the plan; and
	(b) where so authorized by the plan, consider applications for exceptions to the plan.
Cooperative planning	45. (1) The planning board for a settlement area may cooperate with any body responsible for land use planning in any other area, either within or outside the Northwest Territories, that is adjacent to the settlement area.
Joint land use plans	(2) A planning board may, in conjunction with a body referred to in subsection (1), prepare a land use plan for the settlement area and an adjacent area of the Mackenzie Valley, which shall be subject to the requirements of this Part in respect of the portion of the plan relating to the settlement area.