First Nations Added to Land Management Act

Summary#

This Order amends the schedules to the First Nations Land Management Act. It adds 12 First Nations to Schedule 1 (signatories to the Framework Agreement) and 15 First Nations to Schedule 2 (First Nations with a land code in force). The Order was registered on October 19, 2020 and published in the Canada Gazette on October 28, 2020.

What it does#

• Adds the following First Nations to Schedule 1 (have signed the Framework Agreement):
  • Ontario: Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation, Lac Seul First Nation, Naotkamegwanning First Nation
  • Manitoba: Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, Gambler First Nation, Poplar River First Nation, Waywayseecappo First Nation
  • British Columbia: Kwikwetlem First Nation, Shackan Indian Band, Skwah First Nation, Tseycum First Nation
  • Alberta: Woodland Cree First Nation
• Adds the following First Nations to Schedule 2 (have a land code in force), with each land code coming-into-force date:
  • Ontario:
    • Algonquins of Pikwakanagan — August 1, 2019
    • Beausoleil — November 1, 2019
    • Brunswick House — October 1, 2019
    • Moose Deer Point — June 1, 2020
    • Sheshegwaning First Nation — October 1, 2019
  • Nova Scotia:
    • Membertou — September 1, 2019
  • British Columbia:
    • Cowichan Tribes — November 1, 2019
    • Ditidaht First Nation — December 1, 2019
    • Homalco — December 1, 2019
    • Kitsumkalum — February 1, 2020
    • Kwikwetlem First Nation — July 1, 2020
    • Namgis First Nation — April 1, 2019
    • Penelakut Tribe — February 1, 2020
    • T’it’q’et First Nation — September 1, 2019
  • Saskatchewan:
    • Lac La Ronge Indian Band — February 19, 2020
• The Order takes effect on the day it was registered: October 19, 2020.

Who's affected#

• The named First Nations listed above. (One — Kwikwetlem First Nation — is added to both schedules.)
• Members of those First Nations and their communities. They will be the most directly affected because these changes relate to how reserve lands are managed.
• Businesses, developers, and nearby communities could notice changes over time if the First Nations change how land is leased, developed, or regulated.
• The federal department involved is Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations handled the order).

Why it matters#

• Being on Schedule 1 means a First Nation has signed the Framework Agreement and can work toward making its own land laws instead of relying on the relevant parts of the Indian Act.
• Being on Schedule 2 means a First Nation already has a land code in force and now administers its reserve lands under that code rather than under those parts of the Indian Act.
• In practice, this can let communities move faster on projects, set their own land and environmental rules, and seek investments or economic development on reserve land under locally made laws.
• The change is a routine ministerial update that reflects decisions the First Nations themselves made through their own processes.