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Bill C-49

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Community Approval and Certification

Submission to members

10. (1) If the verifier determines that a proposed land code and a proposed community approval process of a first nation are in accordance with the Framework Agreement and this Act, the council of the first nation may submit the proposed land code and the individual agreement to the first nation members for their approval.

Eligibility to vote

(2) Every person who is eighteen years of age or over and a first nation member, whether or not resident on the reserve of the first nation, is eligible to vote in the community approval process.

Information to be provided

(3) The council shall, before proceeding to obtain community approval, take reasonable measures, such as those described in the Framework Agreement, to locate voters and inform them of their right to vote, the means of exercising that right and the content of the Framework Agreement, this Act, the proposed land code and the individual agreement.

Third parties

(4) If other persons have an interest in the land that is to be subject to the proposed land code, the council shall, within a reasonable time before the vote, take appropriate measures to inform those persons of the proposed land code, this Act and the date of the vote.

Publication of notice

11. (1) The verifier shall publish a notice of the date, time and place of a vote.

Role of the verifier

(2) The verifier, and any assistants that the verifier may appoint, shall observe the conduct of a vote.

Report

(3) Within fifteen days after the conclusion of a vote, the verifier shall send to the first nation and the Minister the verifier's report on the conduct of the vote.

Approval by members

12. (1) A proposed land code and an individual agreement that have been submitted for community approval are approved if

    (a) a majority of eligible voters participated in the vote and a majority of those voters voted to approve them;

    (b) all those eligible voters who signified, in a manner determined by the first nation, their intention to vote have been registered and a majority of the registered voters voted to approve them; or

    (c) they are approved by the community in any other manner agreed on by the first nation and the Minister.

Minimum participation

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a proposed land code and an individual agreement are not approved unless more than twenty-five per cent of the eligible voters voted to approve them.

Increased percentage

(3) A council may, by resolution, increase the percentage of votes required under subsection (2).

Copy and declaration

13. (1) If a first nation votes to approve a land code and an individual agreement, its council shall, after the conclusion of the vote and without delay, send to the verifier a copy of the approved code and a declaration that the code and agreement were approved in accordance with section 12.

Report of irregularity

(2) The Minister or an eligible voter may, within five days after the conclusion of a vote, report any irregularity in the voting process to the verifier.

Certification

14. (1) The verifier shall, after receiving a copy of the land code and the declaration, certify the validity of the land code unless the verifier, after giving the first nation and the Minister a reasonable opportunity to make submissions on the matter but within ten days after the conclusion of the vote, is of the opinion that

    (a) the community approval process confirmed under paragraph 8(1)(a) was not followed or the community approval was otherwise irregular; and

    (b) the land code might not have been approved but for that irregularity.

Transmittal

(2) The verifier shall, without delay, send a copy of the certified land code to the first nation and the Minister.

Presumption

(3) A certified land code is deemed to have been validly approved by the first nation.

Coming into Force of Land Code

Coming into force

15. (1) A land code comes into force and has the force of law on the day it is certified or on any other later date that may be specified in or under the land code and judicial notice shall thereafter be taken of the land code in any proceedings.

Access to land code

(2) A copy of the land code of a first nation shall be maintained by the council for public inspection at a place designated by the council.

Effect

16. (1) After the coming into force of a land code, no interest in or licence in relation to first nation land may be acquired or granted except in accordance with the land code of the first nation.

Interests of third parties

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), interests in and licences in relation to first nation land that exist on the coming into force of a land code continue in accordance with their terms and conditions.

Transfer of rights of Her Majesty

(3) On the coming into force of the land code of a first nation, the rights and obligations of Her Majesty as grantor in respect of the interests and licences described in the first nation's individual agreement are transferred to the first nation in accordance with that agreement.

Interests of first nation members

(4) Interests in first nation land held on the coming into force of a land code by first nation members pursuant to allotments under subsection 20(1) of the Indian Act or pursuant to the custom of the first nation are subject to the provisions of the land code governing the transfer and lease of interests in first nation land and sharing in natural resource revenues.

Rules on Breakdown of Marriage

Obligation of first nation

17. (1) A first nation shall, in accordance with the Framework Agreement and following the community consultation process provided for in its land code, establish general rules and procedures, in cases of breakdown of marriage, respecting the use, occupation and possession of first nation land and the division of interests in first nation land.

Establish-
ment of rules and procedures

(2) The first nation shall, within twelve months after its land code comes into force, incorporate the general rules and procedures into its land code or enact a first nation law containing the general rules and procedures.

Disputes

(3) The first nation or the Minister may refer any dispute relating to the establishment of the general rules and procedures to an arbitrator in accordance with the Framework Agreement.

LAND MANAGEMENT REGIME

First Nation Powers

Power to manage

18. (1) A first nation has, after the coming into force of its land code and subject to the Framework Agreement and this Act, the power to manage first nation land and, in particular, may

    (a) exercise the powers, rights and privileges of an owner in relation to that land;

    (b) grant interests in and licences in relation to that land;

    (c) manage the natural resources of that land; and

    (d) receive and use all moneys acquired by or on behalf of the first nation under its land code.

Legal capacity

(2) For any purpose related to first nation land, a first nation has the legal capacity necessary to exercise its powers and perform its duties and functions and, in particular, may

    (a) acquire and hold real and personal property;

    (b) enter into contracts;

    (c) borrow money;

    (d) expend and invest money; and

    (e) be a party to legal proceedings.

Exercise of power

(3) The power of a first nation to manage first nation land shall be exercised by the council of a first nation, or by any person or body to whom a power is delegated by the council in accordance with the first nation's land code, and that power shall be exercised for the use and benefit of the first nation.

Management body

(4) A body established to manage first nation land is a legal entity having the capacity, rights, powers and privileges of a natural person.

Transfer of moneys

19. On the coming into force of the land code of a first nation, all revenue moneys collected, received or held by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of the first nation or its first nation members cease to be Indian moneys and shall be transferred to the first nation.

First Nation Laws

Power to enact laws

20. (1) The council of a first nation has, in accordance with its land code, the power to enact laws respecting

    (a) interests in and licences in relation to first nation land;

    (b) the development, conservation, protection, management, use and possession of first nation land; and

    (c) any matter arising out of or ancillary to the exercise of that power.

Particular powers

(2) Without restricting the generality of subsection (1), first nation laws may include laws respecting

    (a) the regulation, control or prohibition of land use and development including zoning and subdivision control;

    (b) subject to section 5, the creation, acquisition and granting of interests in and licences in relation to first nation land and prohibitions in relation thereto;

    (c) environmental assessment and environmental protection;

    (d) the provision of local services in relation to first nation land and the imposition of equitable user charges for those services; and

    (e) the provision of services for the resolution of disputes in relation to first nation land.

Enforcement measures

(3) A first nation law may provide for enforcement measures, consistent with federal laws, such as the power to inspect, search and seize and to order compulsory sampling, testing and the production of information.

Inconsistency

(4) In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between the land code of a first nation and the provisions of a first nation law or of a by-law made by its council under section 81 of the Indian Act, the land code prevails to the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.

Environ-
mental protection

21. (1) Before enacting any first nation law respecting environmental protection, a first nation shall enter into an agreement with the Minister and the Minister of the Environment in relation to environmental protection in accordance with the Framework Agreement.

Minimum standards

(2) For the purposes of an agreement entered into under subsection (1), the standards of environmental protection established by first nation laws and the punishments imposed for failure to meet those standards must be at least equivalent in their effect to any standards established and punishments imposed by the laws of the province in which the first nation land is situated.

Environ-
mental assessment

(3) First nation laws respecting environmental assessment must provide for the establishment, in accordance with the Framework Agreement, of an environmental assessment process applicable to all projects carried out on first nation land that are approved, regulated, funded or undertaken by the first nation.

Offences and punishment

22. (1) A first nation law may create offences punishable on summary conviction and provide for the imposition of fines, imprisonment, restitution, community service and any other means for achieving compliance.

Incorporation by reference

(2) A first nation law may adopt or incorporate by reference the summary conviction procedures of Part XXVII of the Criminal Code, as amended from time to time.

Prosecution

(3) A first nation may, in relation to prosecutions of contraventions of first nation laws,

    (a) retain its own prosecutors;

    (b) enter into an agreement with Her Majesty and a provincial government for the use of provincial prosecutors; or

    (c) enter into an agreement with Her Majesty for the use of agents engaged by Her Majesty.

Evidence

23. In any proceedings, a copy of a first nation law appearing to be certified as a true copy by an officer of the first nation is, without proof of the officer's signature or official character, evidence of its enactment on the date specified in the law.

Appointment of justices of the peace

24. (1) A first nation or, if Her Majesty and the first nation have entered into an agreement for that purpose in accordance with the Framework Agreement, the Governor in Council, may appoint justices of the peace to ensure the enforcement of first nation laws including the adjudication of offences for contraventions of first nation laws.

Judicial independence

(2) A justice of the peace appointed for a first nation shall have tenure and remuneration, and be subject to conditions of removal, that reflect the independence of the office of justice of the peace in the province in which the first nation land is situated.

Powers

(3) Justices of the peace have all the powers necessary for the performance of their duties and functions.

Appeals

(4) An appeal lies from a decision of a justice of the peace in the manner in which an appeal lies in summary conviction proceedings under Part XXVII of the Criminal Code and the provisions of that Part relating to appeals apply to appeals under this section.

Courts of a province

(5) If no justices of the peace are appointed for a first nation, its first nation laws shall be enforced through a court of competent jurisdiction of the province in which its first nation land is situated.

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