First Nations Financial Transparency Transfer

Summary#

This is an Order that brings into force two parts of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 that move responsibility for the First Nations Financial Transparency Act from one minister and department to another. It makes the transfer effective the day after the Order was made (the Order is dated September 25, 2023 and was published in the Canada Gazette on October 11, 2023).

What it does#

• Brings into force subsection 368(2) of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1, which changes who the Act calls the “Minister” so that responsibility shifts to Indigenous Services Canada (the Minister of Indigenous Services).
• Brings into force subsection 369(2), which changes where the minister must publish certain First Nations financial documents — moving that duty from Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to Indigenous Services Canada.
• Does not change the reporting or disclosure rules that First Nations must follow under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act. It is a transfer of responsibility, not a change to the Act’s substantive requirements.
• Takes effect the day after the Order was made (see September 25, 2023).

Who's affected#

• First Nations communities required under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act to produce audited consolidated financial statements and audited schedules of chiefs’ and councillors’ remuneration and expenses.
• People and groups who look up those published documents — they will find them on Indigenous Services Canada’s website instead of Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s site once the change is in effect.
• The two federal departments involved: Indigenous Services Canada and Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. The ministers responsible for those departments are the named officials affected by the transfer.
• First Nations partner organizations (for example, the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Financial Management Board) were informed and reportedly did not raise concerns.

Why it matters#

• This is mainly an administrative change. It tells the public which federal department and minister will now handle the duties tied to financial transparency for First Nations.
• In practice, the main visible effect will be where audited First Nations financial documents are posted online. People who use those documents (community members, researchers, funders, journalists) should check Indigenous Services Canada’s website after the change.
• The change does not alter what First Nations must disclose or how they must report; it only moves the publishing and ministerial oversight from one department to another.