Bill S-38

1st Session, 37th Parliament,

49-50-51 Elizabeth II, 2001-2002

senate of canada

BILL S-38

An Act declaring the Crown’s recognition of self-government for the First Nations of Canada

WHEREAS history records that the Crown entered into legal relations with certain Nations, Tribes or bodies of Indians;

WHEREAS the Parliament of Canada subsequently passed certain laws in relation to Indians and lands reserved for Indians;

WHEREAS some of these laws have created a cumbersome, expensive and inefficient system of administration over Indians and their lands;

WHEREAS it is proper, just and in the public interest that such Nations, Tribes or bodies of Indians be free to administer, regulate and manage their own communities, lands and resources and exercise the appropriate tools of governance over their lands and peoples;

AND WHEREAS it is in the common interest that First Nations, exercising their inherent powers over their lands, languages, identities, cultures, economies and communities, continue to shape Canada recognizing the universal principles of respect, tolerance, sharing, mutuality and reciprocity;

NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

1. This Act may be cited as the First Nations Self-Government Recognition Act.

Interpretation

2. (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this Act.

“aboriginal lands”, with respect to a First Nation, means those lands to which the First Nation holds aboriginal title, and includes

(a) any tracts of lands that have been reserved by the First Nation exclusively for itself within its territory and to which legal title is vested in the Crown in trust, including reserves, surrendered lands and designated lands within the meaning of the Indian Act;

(b) lands acquired or owned by the First Nation, before or after it came under this Act, that are declared by the Governor in Council to be its lands;

(c) lands acquired by or restored to the First Nation, before or after it came under this Act, pursuant to a claim against the Crown or any other person or a settlement of such a claim; and

(d) lands acquired by the First Nation, before or after it came under this Act, as compensation for the expropriation or ceding of any land referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

and, for greater certainty, aboriginal lands of a First Nation designated for administration by any body corporate and politic created under the laws of the First Nation do not cease to be aboriginal lands of the First Nation merely by reason of that designation.

“aboriginal title”, with respect to land, means a First Nation’s permanent, inalienable interest that

(a) existed before the arrival of Europeans in Canada;

(b) does not originate in a grant from any other sovereign or government;

(c) is perpetual and passes from generation to generation;

(d) is subject to the jurisdiction and inherent powers of the First Nation;

(e) includes any reversionary interest, if any, that the Crown might otherwise have or claim; and

(f) is collectively owned by the members of the First Nation.

“citizen”, with respect to a First Nation, means a person recognized by the First Nation as a member of the First Nation and, with reference to a matter or circumstance before the First Nation came under this Act, includes a member of the community that comprises the First Nation.

“community” means a body of indigenous people, or a subgroup thereof,

(a) for whose use and benefit land has been reserved within the meaning of section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867; and,

(b) that is recognized as a nation, tribe, band or other body of indigenous people

(i) by any treaty or agreement with the Crown,

(ii) under the Indian Act or by any other Act of Parliament, or

(iii) by any order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“constitution” means the constitution of a First Nation and includes both a written and an unwritten constitution by which a First Nation governs itself.

“First Nation” means a community that has come under this Act and, in relation to a time before the community came under this Act, means that community at that time.

(2) This Act shall be read in respect of each community that comes under this Act as a special Act applying to that community.

(3) In interpreting this Act, it shall be recognized that lands that are held in aboriginal title, subject to this Act, are

(a) except as provided in this Act, inalienable by the First Nation that holds them;

(b) entitled to the protection of the Government of Canada from incursion, molestation or interference by any other government or person; and

(c) intended to provide a permanent and safe place in the Canadian Confederation for First Nations peoples, so that they may live in peace and harmony, and in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance, with the many people of other cultures who have come to Canada.

Statement of Purpose

3. The purpose of this Act is to recognize the inherent rights and powers of the peoples of the First Nations of Canada over their lands, languages, identities, cultures, economies and communities, so that they may fully and freely exercise the jurisdiction and powers inherent in their status.

PART 1

SELF-GOVERNMENT

Preliminaries

4. (1) When a community proposes to come under this Act, the community must, by way of a referendum, refer the proposal, together with a draft constitution, to the electors of the community for their approval.

(2) An elector of a community in a referendum referred to in subsection 4(1) is

(a) for a community that maintains its own membership list, a natural person 18 years of age or older who at the time of the referendum is on the membership list of the community as maintained by the community;

(b) for a community that does not maintain its own membership list, a natural person 18 years of age or older who at the time of the referendum is on the membership list of the community as maintained by the Government of Canada for the community and authenticated by the community; and

(c) for a community that operates under customary law, a natural person who at the time of the referendum would be entitled to vote in a referendum according to the custom of the community.

(3) For greater certainty, if the membership records of a community differ from those of the Government of Canada, the records of the community prevail unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(4) A proposal must contain, as a minimum, the following information:

(a) the identification of the community;

(b) the name proposed for the community when it comes under this Act;

(c) a description of the reserves and other lands that constitute the territory of the community;

(d) details of the treaties and agreements previously entered into between the Crown in any right and the community, or on its behalf;

(e) a general description of the tribal patrimony and other resources available to the community and the manner, in general terms, by which it is anticipated that the community will finance itself immediately and in the future;

(f) the approximate number of electors qualified to vote on the proposal;

(g) the name of the person who will be appointed electoral officer to conduct the referendum on the proposal, and the names of a reasonable number of persons to act as replacement electoral officers in case the electoral officer is unable to conduct the referendum; and

(h) the names of the electors who will be the governing body when the community comes under this Act.

(5) The draft constitution accompanying the proposal may be a copy of the sample constitution set out in Schedule 1, or a different constitution that must be consistent with this Act and that must make provision for

(a) the recognition of a body of elders and any other body, society or person that forms part of the tradition of the community;

(b) a citizenship code that, having regard to section 41, includes the requirements for citizenship and the procedure for determining whether a person is a citizen;

(c) a governing body and its composition, principal administrative officer, tenure of office, powers, duties and procedures;

(d) the procedure by which the laws of the First Nation are to be enacted and promulgated;

(e) a system of reporting, through audits or otherwise, by which the governing body and its members are financially accountable to the citizens;

(f) the amendment of the constitution by the citizens;

(g) the rules and procedures relating to the selection and tenure of the members of the governing body, including transitional provisions and provisions for the holding of referendums;

(h) the procedures for calling annual general and other assemblies of the citizens and the matters to be placed before them for approval or deliberation; and

(i) other matters provided for in Schedule 1 relating to government, citizens or lands.

(6) A defect or omission that is not of a substantial nature in the draft constitution or in any other document or matter that precedes the holding of a referendum on a proposal does not invalidate the referendum or its outcome.

Community coming under Act

5. (1) When a proposal for a community to come under this Act and a draft constitution have been referred to the electors of the community and more than fifty per cent of all the electors approve the proposal and the draft constitution,

(a) the community comes under this Act as a self-governing polity

(i) on the day specified therefor in the proposal or ninety days after the referendum if the proposal contains no specified day,

(ii) under the name approved by the referendum, and

(iii) with the constitution approved by the referendum; and

(b) the persons who are members of the governing body of the community on the date of the referendum shall forthwith notify the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, who shall cause a notice of the approval of the proposal to be published in the Canada Gazette.

(2) The community in respect of which a referendum is approved as described in subsection (1) is a First Nation under this Act, with effect from the day it becomes self-governing in accordance with subparagraph (1)(a)(i).

6. A First Nation is a body politic with perpetual succession and all the powers, rights and privileges necessary for the performance of the functions that are described in its constitution or this Act or that are ancillary or incidental thereto.

Transitional Provisions

7. (1) Subject to the constitution, the persons who are members of the governing body of the community immediately before the community comes under this Act are the first governing body of the First Nation.

(2) A member of the governing body referred to in subsection (1) is deemed to have been duly selected or elected, pursuant to and subject to the constitution, as a member of the first governing body of the First Nation for a five-year term commencing on the day on which the member last took office on the governing body before the community came under this Act.

(3) The persons who are officers and employees of the community immediately before the community comes under this Act are deemed to be the duly appointed officers and employees of the First Nation until confirmed or removed by its governing body.

Legislative Powers

8. (1) A First Nation is hereby recognized as having the power to make laws respecting the First Nation and its citizens, lands, language, identity, culture and economy, and in particular, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to make laws respecting the subject-matters enumerated in Schedule 2, subject to any restrictions placed on the law-making power in its constitution.

(2) Unless otherwise provided for in the constitution, the laws of a First Nation shall be enacted by the governing body of the First Nation.

9. The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply to a law or to the constitution of a First Nation, or to any rules or resolutions of the governing body of the First Nation.

10. A law of a First Nation applies only within the territory comprising the lands of the First Nation, unless otherwise provided for in this Act or in a law of the First Nation made in relation to a subject matter in items 12 to 19, 21 or 36 of Schedule 2.

11. (1) A maximum fine or maximum term of imprisonment imposed by or under any law of a First Nation may not exceed the maximum fine and maximum term of imprisonment provided by section 787 of the Criminal Code for offences punishable on summary conviction for which no specific penalty is provided.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt and without limiting the generality of subsection (1), when a law of a First Nation is contravened and a conviction entered, the court in which the conviction has been entered, and any court of competent jurisdiction thereafter, may, in addition to any other remedy and to any penalty imposed by the law, make an order prohibiting the continuation or repetition of the offence by the person convicted, whether or not the additional order is requested by the First Nation.

12. Every fine, penalty, victim surcharge, tax or forfeiture and interest thereon imposed under a law of a First Nation or pursuant to this Act in respect of the First Nation belongs to the First Nation.

13. A First Nation has exclusive jurisdiction in relation to the laying of charges and the prosecution of persons who contravene its laws.

14. Subject to the establishment of any court or tribunal pursuant to paragraph 38 of Schedule 2, or an equivalent provision in a constitution not based on Schedule 1, a provincial court of summary jurisdiction in a province in which a First Nation is situated has jurisdiction with respect to the enforcement of the laws of the First Nation and with respect to matters arising from those laws.

15. Subject to the establishment of any court or tribunal pursuant to paragraph 38 of Schedule 2, or an equivalent provision in a constitution not based on Schedule 1, a provincial court of competent jurisdiction in a province in which a First Nation is situated has jurisdiction with respect to this Act and the laws of the First Nation and with respect to matters arising from this Act or those laws.

PART 2

ABORIGINAL TITLE AND MONEYS

16. Aboriginal title in the aboriginal lands of a First Nation is recognized in the First Nation on the day the First Nation comes under this Act, subject to the rights, interests and conditions referred to in section 17.

17. (1) The recognition of the aboriginal title in respect of the aboriginal lands of a First Nation under section 16 does not operate to affect any lawfully acquired rights, obligations or interests in those lands at the time the First Nation comes under this Act, except to replace references to the Crown with references to the First Nation.

(2) All instruments evidencing existing rights or obligations referred to in subsection (1), in this section called “existing rights”, shall be presumed to be instruments issued by a First Nation in respect of the existing rights until those instruments are replaced by instruments issued in respect of the existing rights by the First Nation to the holders of the existing rights.

(3) When a First Nation issues an instrument to a holder of existing rights pursuant to subsection (2), the instrument conveys the existing rights unchanged, unless changes in the terms and conditions of the existing rights are agreed upon by the holder of the rights and the First Nation.

(4) This section does not terminate any accrued rights of the Government of Canada or a First Nation, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any accrued rights in respect of operations conducted on aboriginal lands of the First Nation before the First Nation came under this Act.

(5) After a First Nation comes under this Act, the First Nation may, at any time, request the Government of Canada in its capacity as a legal agent acting on behalf of the First Nation to provide a full and complete audited accounting in respect of all transactions involving reserves, interests pertaining to reserves, or any other assets of the First Nation, excluding moneys, in order to facilitate the early and orderly discharge of the responsibilities of the Crown in respect of those transactions.

18. No citizen of a First Nation has any right or power to claim any interest in or to dispose of, encumber, sever or require a transfer of any interest in the aboriginal lands and assets of the First Nation, except to the extent that an interest in those lands or assets has been granted or transferred by the First Nation to the citizen in conformity with subsections 19(3), (4) and (5).

19. (1) Subject to sections 18 and 28, aboriginal lands of a First Nation cannot be alienated.

(2) Notwithstanding any other Act, no interest in the aboriginal lands of a First Nation, or any portion thereof, may be expropriated by the Crown or any entity other than the First Nation.

(3) A First Nation has the full and exclusive power to encumber any of its aboriginal lands and any rights or interests therein and to permit persons to occupy, use or reside on those lands or otherwise exercise any rights in respect of those lands, but may not exercise any of those powers except in conformity with the constitution and laws of the First Nation.

(4) No encumbrance of any interest in the aboriginal lands of a First Nation by way of lease, mortgage or otherwise, nor any licence in respect of those lands, is valid unless it is made with the express written consent of the governing body of the First Nation.

(5) For greater certainty, the constitution of a First Nation may prohibit or restrict the encumbrance of the aboriginal lands of the First Nation.

(6) The constitution of a First Nation may provide for lands owned by the First Nation that are not aboriginal lands to be designated and made aboriginal lands by a referendum approved by no less than eighty percent of those voting.

20. (1) A First Nation may by law authorize the registration of estates and interests in the aboriginal lands of the First Nation specified in the law and, for that purpose, may apply any laws of the province in which the First Nation is situated.

(2) All estates and interests in the aboriginal lands of a First Nation that are not subject to a law made pursuant to subsection (1) continue to be registrable in the Reserve Land Register maintained pursuant to section 21 of the Indian Act.

21. For greater certainty, aboriginal lands of a First Nation are lands reserved for the Indians within the meaning of section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

22. (1) For greater certainty,

(a) on the day that a community comes under this Act as a First Nation, it becomes the beneficial owner of all moneys that were held by the Crown for the use and benefit of the community immediately prior to that day; and

(b) a First Nation is the beneficial owner of all moneys that are received by the Crown, for the use and benefit of the community constituting the First Nation, after the community comes under this Act.

(2) A First Nation is not responsible for the moneys described in subsection (1), and the Crown remains responsible for those moneys until the control of the moneys has, after a suitable accounting, been transferred to the First Nation.

(3) No citizen has, by reason only of citizenship in a First Nation, any claim to, or any power to dispose of, encumber, sever or require a transfer of any interest in, any of the moneys of the First Nation.

(4) All moneys beneficially owned by a First Nation and all accretions thereto are deemed always to be situated on the aboriginal lands of the First Nation.

(5) In this section, a “suitable accounting” means a full and complete accounting, by means of an audit conducted by an independent auditor in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, of all moneys, including interest thereon, received, disbursed or held, or that should have been received, disbursed or held, for the use and benefit of the First Nation.

23. (1) Section 87 of the Indian Act, as it reads on the coming into force of this Act, applies, subject to subsections (2) and (3) and with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a First Nation and its citizens as if the references in that section to a band or a reserve included First Nations and the aboriginal lands of First Nations respectively.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), the reference in section 87 of the Indian Act to section 83 of that Act is also a reference to this Act.

(3) Section 87 of the Indian Act applies in respect of an Indian corporation as though it were an Indian.

(4) In this section and in sections 24, 25, 27 and 36, “Indian corporation” means a corporation incorporated under a law of Canada or a province, or under a law of a First Nation, that carries on business exclusively on the aboriginal lands of the First Nation and of which each shareholder is either

(a) the First Nation, a citizen, another community or a member of another community, or any combination thereof, or a body corporate that is controlled by, or the shares of which are beneficially or legally owned by, any of them or any combination of them; or

(b) a person who holds all the shares of the corporation for the benefit of the First Nation, a citizen, another community or a member of another community, or any combination of them.

24. Subject to this Act, to the constitution and laws of a First Nation, and to any agreement to the contrary in respect of personal property to which the governing body of the First Nation has given its written consent, no interest in the aboriginal lands of the First Nation and no personal property situated on those lands and belonging to the First Nation, a citizen, another community, an Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act, or an Indian corporation may be mortgaged or otherwise encumbered as security, or be subject to any mode of civil execution, except in favour of the First Nation, a citizen, another community, an Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act, or an Indian corporation.

25. A person who sells anything to a First Nation, a citizen, another community, an Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act, or an Indian corporation under an agreement whereby a right of property or right of possession to the thing remains wholly or in part in the seller, may exercise the seller’s rights under the agreement notwithstanding that the thing is situated on land referred to in section 24.

26. For the purposes of sections 22 to 25, personal property is deemed always to be situated on lands of the First Nation if it was

(a) purchased for the use and benefit of the First Nation or its citizens

(i) by the Crown in right of Canada with First Nation moneys or with moneys appropriated by Parliament, or

(ii) by a First Nation with its moneys or with moneys appropriated by Parliament; or

(b) given to citizens or to the First Nation under a treaty or agreement between the First Nation and the Crown, or in satisfaction of a claim.

27. Every transaction purporting to pass title to, or any interest in, any property that is deemed to be situated on the aboriginal lands of a First Nation is void unless the transaction is entered into with the consent of the First Nation or is entered into between citizens, an Indian corporation or any combination of those parties.

PART 3

ORGANIZATIONAL OPTIONS

28. (1) A First Nation may authorize the division of the First Nation or its amalgamation with any other community of Indians that has come under this Act.

(2) A division of a First Nation or the amalgamation of the First Nation may be effected only with the approval of the First Nation electors, as defined by the constitution of the First Nation, in a referendum in which at least eighty per cent of all the qualified electors vote in favour of the division or amalgamation.

29. (1) A First Nation may be party to a plan, in this section called a “confederation plan”, to establish a body politic to become the recipient of delegated administrative and legislative powers from communities that have come under this Act and are parties to the confederation plan.

(2) A confederation plan becomes effective when the governing bodies of the parties thereto have obtained an amendment to their respective constitutions to effect the plan.

(3) The body politic established pursuant to subsection (1) has the capacity and powers of a natural person.

(4) During the term of a confederation plan, a First Nation may not exercise any of the powers delegated by it for the purposes of the plan except as provided for in its constitution as amended for the purposes of the plan.

PART 4

GENERAL

Administration

30. (1) For greater certainty,

(a) subject to the constitution or any law of a First Nation, nothing in this Act abrogates or derogates from any existing legal or equitable right, aboriginal or treaty right, Royal Proclamation right, or other right, power or freedom that pertain to a First Nation, its citizens or any other aboriginal peoples of Canada;

(b) nothing in this Act abrogates or derogates from any existing or future claim of the First Nation; and

(c) nothing in this Act nor any action taken under it is a waiver of

(i) the status of citizens as Indians within the meaning of section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, or

(ii) any existing aboriginal or treaty rights of any First Nation or its members.

(2) This Act binds the Crown in right of Canada or a province.

(3) This Act is declared remedial for the purposes of section 12 of the Interpretation Act.

(4) The Canadian Human Rights Act does not apply in respect of anything done under this Act.

31. (1) No individual is personally liable for any debt, obligation or act of a First Nation by reason only of being a member of its governing body unless the debt, obligation or act is in contravention of this Act, the constitution or a law of the First Nation, and the individual knowingly consents to, authorizes or engages in the contravention.

(2) No individual is personally liable for any debt, obligation or act of a First Nation by reason only of being a citizen.

32. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the Indian Act or any other Act specifically applicable to Indians or any band, tribe or nation of Indians, and the regulations made thereunder, do not apply to a First Nation, its citizens, aboriginal lands, moneys or assets.

(2) Subject to this Act and the constitution of a First Nation,

(a) the Indian Band Election Regulations, the Indian Referendum Regulation, or the Indian Band Council Procedure Regulations, as the case may be, made under the Indian Act and as they read on the day the First Nation comes under this Act, apply to the First Nation;

(b) section 114, paragraphs 115(a), (b) and (c) and sections 116 to 122 of the Indian Act apply to the First Nation as if the references in those sections to the Minister, a band or a reserve were, respectively, references to the governing body of the First Nation, the First Nation or lands of the First Nation;

(c) sections 42 to 50 of the Indian Act apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to the First Nation and its citizens in the absence of any law of the First Nation in relation to the matters provided for in those sections;

(d) section 51 of the Indian Act applies in respect of the property of dependent adult citizens until the provisions of that section are replaced by laws of the First Nation that are no less favourable in respect of the adult dependent citizen than the provisions of the Indian Act;

(e) sections 52 and 52.2 to 52.5 of the Indian Act apply in respect of the property of minor children of citizens until the provisions of those sections are replaced by laws of the First Nation that are no less favourable in respect of the minor children than the provisions of the Indian Act;

(f) section 87 of the Indian Act applies to the First Nation, its citizens, aboriginal lands of the First Nation and the property of its citizens; and

(g) sections 5 to 7 of the Indian Act apply in respect of the registration of citizens as Indians and the determination of which citizens are entitled to be so registered.

(4) A reference to a provision of the Indian Act in subsections 32(3) to (8) is a reference to the provision as it reads on the coming into force of this Act.

33. (1) A First Nation may incorporate in its laws any provision of the Indian Act or of any other Act of Parliament that is

(a) specifically applicable to Indians or the lands reserved for Indians; and

(b) not within the legislative power of the First Nation.

(2) A law of a First Nation that incorporates a provision of an Act referred in subsection (1) may modify the provision to the extent necessary to express the law in language compatible with the laws of the First Nation but without changing the substance of the provision.

(3) When the provision of an Act referred to in subsection (1) is incorporated into a law of the First Nation, the law has the same effect as if it were expressly embodied in this Act.

(4) After its making, a law described in subsection (1)

(a) may be repealed at any time by the First Nation, and

(b) may be amended only to reflect any changes made by Parliament in the provision of the Act that was incorporated in the law,

and subsections (2) and (3) apply to any amendment of that law.

34. (1) Except to the extent that it is inconsistent with a provision of this Act, a law of the Parliament of Canada applies to a First Nation, its citizens and its aboriginal lands, subject to the terms of any treaty, treaty right or land claims agreement.

(2) Subject to the terms of any treaty, treaty right or land claims agreement, a law of the Parliament of Canada does not apply to a First Nation, its citizens or its aboriginal lands, or to Indians within the meaning of the Indian Act, to the extent that the law is inconsistent with the constitution of the First Nation or a law of the First Nation, unless that law

(a) deals with a distinct subject matter that, by its inherent nature, is of concern to Canada as a whole and is beyond local or provincial control; or

(b) serves a compelling and substantial purpose of national significance consistent with the Crown’s ongoing fiduciary relationship with First Nations and interferes as little as possible with the law-making authority of the First Nation to produce the necessary result, or is of a temporary and extraordinary nature and intended to deal with an emergency.

(3) A law of general application of a province applies to Indians and citizens of a First Nation on lands of the First Nation within the province only to the extent that any such law is not inconsistent with a term of a treaty with or treaty right of the First Nation, with this or any other Act of Parliament, with the constitution or a law of the First Nation, or with any applicable land claims agreement.

35. Except to the extent of any inconsistency with this Act, with any law of a First Nation or with any provision of its constitution, a by-law of the First Nation that is in force immediately before the First Nation comes under this Act continues in force as a law of the First Nation until it is replaced by a law enacted pursuant to this Act.

36. Unless a law of a First Nation otherwise provides, the Indian Oil and Gas Act and regulations made thereunder apply to the First Nation, its lands, its governing body, its citizens and its agents, whether incorporated or not, and to an Indian corporation wholly owned by the First Nation.

37. Unless a law of a First Nation otherwise provides, the Canada Lands Survey Act and regulations made thereunder apply to lands of the First Nation.

38. The environmental standards established by or under any Act of Parliament apply in respect of the lands of a First Nation, until the First Nation enacts its own environmental laws, subject to section 39.

39. A First Nation may, by law,

(a) apply the environmental standards of the province in which the First Nation is situated; or

(b) establish other environmental standards for the lands of the First Nation, if the environmental standards so established are no less stringent and no less protective of the environment than the least stringent of the environmental standards referred to in section 38 and the standards of the province referred to in paragraph (a).

Saving

40. (1) If the governing body of a First Nation requests by resolution that the Governor in Council do so, the Governor in Council may, by order, declare any of sections 11 to 15, subsections 19(1) and (2) and sections 24 and 25 not applicable to the First Nation or a citizen.

(2) A declaration made under subsection (1) may apply to the First Nation generally or in respect of a specified transaction, and indefinitely or for a stated period.

(3) A declaration made under subsection (1) may, with the approval of the First Nation, be revoked at any time by order of the Governor in Council.

41. (1) A person who had a right to membership or citizenship in the community comprising a First Nation immediately before that community first acquired or assumed control of its membership or citizenship from the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development under this Act, the Indian Act or any other Act of Parliament, may not be deprived of citizenship by reason only of a situation that existed, or an action that was taken, before the community first acquired or assumed control of its membership or citizenship from the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where its application would abrogate or derogate from any existing legal or equitable rights, aboriginal or treaty rights, Royal Proclamation rights, or any other rights, powers or freedoms that pertain to the First Nations.

Consequential Amendments

Fishing and Recreational Harbours Act

42. The definition “agency” in section 2 of the Fishing and Recreational Harbours Act is amended by striking out the word “and” at the end of paragraph (c), by adding the word “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):

Lobbyists Registration Act

43. Subsection 4(1) of the Lobbyists Registration Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (d.2):

Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act

44. The definition “taxing authority” in subsection 2(1) of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):

Privacy Act

45. Subsection 8(6) of the Privacy Act is amended by striking out the word “or” at the end of paragraph (c), by adding the word “or” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after paragraph (d):