Land Code

Training, Webinars, and Information on:

FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT
FIRST NATION PROFILE PAGES
LAND GOVERNANCE
LAND LAW, REGULATION & POLICY
FIRST NATION LAND REGISTRY
LAND INTERESTS
LAND SURVEYS
LAND USE PLANNING
CULTURAL, HERITAGE & TRADITIONAL USE
NATURAL RESOURCES
ENVIRONMENT

The Land Governance Manual (LGM) is a resource tool for Operational First Nations under the Framework Agreement. It was originally developed by a focus group of 11 Operational First Nations in the Sto:lo Territory in British Columbia which represented over 20+ years of land code implementation experience.

I am an Operational First Nation

Your community has ratified the Land Code and the Individual Agreement, control over First Nation lands and resources are no longer be subject to the Indian Act, but recognized to be under the governance authority of the First Nation.

As a signatory to the Framework Agreement First Nation will:

Develop a land governance system by creating its own Land Code (LC); replaces the 44 land management sections under the Indian Act

Enter into an Individual Agreement (IA) with Canada; identifies what will be transferred into FN control

Develop a Community Ratification Process (CRP); the process to be followed for membership’s vote on the above two documents

The specific steps are set out in the Framework Agreement.

The LAB and RC are committed to assisting all First Nations in achieving their desired goal of exercising their inherent right to control their reserve lands and resources.

Let us know if you would like more information or to coordinate a presentation to your leadership and community.

The purpose of the Framework Agreement was to recognize the inherent right of First Nations to resume control over their lands and resources for the use and benefit of their members without Government interference, by replacing the land provisions of the Indian Act with First Nation made laws.

The Framework Agreement provides First Nations with the option to govern their reserve lands outside the Indian Act. The option to regain control of their lands and resources can only be undertaken with the consent of the community.

Today, the Framework Agreement has expanded to include an ever-growing number of communities across Canada who are interested in replacing the lands restrictions of the Indian Act with their own land code laws and policies.
Each operational signatory community to the Framework Agreement assumes the full law-making authority and management of their reserve lands, environment and natural resources when they ratify their land code.
Canada ratified the Framework Agreement through the passage of the First Nations Land Management Act, which was assented to June 17, 1999.

“When the decline in the fishing industry threatened the economic development of the We Wai Kai Nation, it took over its own land code. This allowed the Nation to take full advantage of new economic opportunities to the benefit of their members as well as surrounding communities.”