Marginal note:Approval by majority vote

• 21. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a vote conducted under section 17 or 18 is affirmative when

  • (a) a majority of eligible voters participates in the vote and a majority of those who participate votes affirmatively; or

  • (b) the council has provided for the registration of eligible voters who signify their intention to participate in the vote, and a majority of those who are so registered votes affirmatively.

• Marginal note:Minimum participation

  (2) A vote is not affirmative unless more than twenty-five per cent of all eligible voters vote affirmatively.

• Marginal note:Increased percentage

  (3) The council of a first nation may, by resolution adopted before the vote, increase the proportion of votes required under paragraph (1)(a) or (b) or subsection (2).

TRANSFERS TO FIRST NATIONS

Oil and Gas

Marginal note:Additions to Schedule 1

• 22. (1) The Governor in Council may, by order, add a first nation’s name to Schedule 1 following

  • (a) an affirmative vote by the first nation’s eligible voters on the ratification of the codes prepared under section 10 and the approval of the transfer of the management and regulation of oil and gas exploration and exploitation to that first nation; and

  • (b) the making of laws by the council under paragraphs 35(1)(a) to (d).

• Marginal note:Change of name

  (2) On receipt by the Minister of a resolution of a first nation’s council advising of a change in the name of the first nation, the Governor in Council may, by order, amend Schedule 1 accordingly.

Marginal note:Transfer of contracts

• 23. (1) On a first nation’s transfer date, the rights and obligations of Her Majesty under existing contracts in respect of the first nation’s managed area — as well as under any agreements related to those contracts — are assigned to the first nation.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (2) The Minister shall provide written notice to contract holders of the assignment of their contracts and any agreements referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Existing designations

  (3) For greater certainty, after a first nation’s transfer date, any designations made under the Indian Act in respect of oil and gas in the first nation’s managed area cease to have effect, and the rights and obligations of Her Majesty under those designations are superseded by the rights and obligations of the first nation under this Act.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (4) If a designation under the Indian Act relates both to oil and gas and to other rights and interests unrelated to oil and gas, subsection (3) applies in respect of the designation only insofar as it relates to oil and gas.

Marginal note:Rights and interests under contracts

• 24. (1) Oil and gas laws that come into force on a first nation’s transfer date may not impair the rights or interests of a contract holder under a contract assigned by section 23.

• Marginal note:Power of first nation to amend

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of the making of laws by a first nation after its transfer date.

Marginal note:Managed area

• 25. (1) The managed area of a first nation consists of the lands set apart, as of the transfer date, as the reserve or reserves of the first nation, and includes any lands subsequently added to those lands, unless the first nation and the Minister agree otherwise at the time they are added.

• Marginal note:Excluded lands

  (2) Any reserve lands whose boundaries have been surveyed under Part II of the Canada Lands Surveys Act may be excluded from a managed area if the transfer agreement so provides.

• Marginal note:Restoration of excluded lands

  (3) The Minister and the first nation may agree, at any time after a first nation’s transfer date, to include in the first nation’s managed area any of the lands excluded from it by the transfer agreement, in which case an amendment shall be made accordingly to the legal description of the managed area in the appli-cable register referred to in subsection 26(1).

Marginal note:Registration of lands

• 26. (1) A legal description of a first nation’s managed area shall be entered, as of the first nation’s transfer date, in the Reserve Land Register maintained under section 21 of the Indian Act or, in the case of a first nation to which the First Nations Land Management Act applies, the First Nations Land Register maintained under section 25 of that Act. If lands are subsequently added to the managed area, the applicable register shall be amended accordingly.

• Marginal note:Registration of existing contracts

  (2) All contracts in respect of a first nation’s managed area that are registered in the Surrendered and Designated Lands Register maintained under subsection 55(1) of the Indian Act shall be entered, as of the transfer date, in the register established by the regulations or, if none has been established, in the applicable register referred to in subsection (1).

Marginal note:Liability for transfer

• 27. (1) Her Majesty is not liable for

  • (a) the decision by a first nation or its council to request a transfer under section 6 or for any actions taken by the first nation or its council pursuant to the request;

  • (b) any loss or damage resulting from the assignment of contracts to the first nation under section 23; or

  • (c) an unintentional omission to provide any information referred to in subsection 8(1).

• Marginal note:Liability for future management

  (2) Her Majesty is not liable in respect of the exercise of powers by a first nation in relation to oil and gas exploration or exploitation under this Act.

• Marginal note:Liability arising from title

  (3) Her Majesty is not liable, as the holder of title to reserve lands or to oil and gas found in those lands, in respect of any damage occasioned by oil and gas exploration or exploitation under this Act.

Marginal note:Past liability

28. Subject to section 27, this Act does not affect the liability of Her Majesty or a first nation for any act or omission occurring before the first nation’s transfer date.

Moneys

Marginal note:Additions to Schedule 2

• 29. (1) The Minister may, by order, add a first nation’s name to Schedule 2 following an affirmative vote of the first nation’s eligible voters on the ratification of the code prepared under section 11 and the approval of the payment of moneys to the first nation in accordance with the code.

• Marginal note:Change of name

  (2) On receipt of a resolution of the council of a first nation advising of a change in its name, the Minister may, by order, amend Schedule 2 accordingly.

Marginal note:Initial payment of moneys

• 30. (1) Following the addition of a first nation’s name to Schedule 2, the moneys held by Her Majesty for its use and benefit shall be paid to the first nation out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund in accordance with the payment agreement.

• Marginal note:Loan guarantees

  (2) The Minister may withhold, from moneys otherwise payable under subsection (1), the outstanding amount of any loans entered into by the first nation or members of the first nation and guaranteed by Her Majesty on the security of moneys held for the use and benefit of the first nation by Her Majesty under the Indian Act.

Marginal note:Subsequent payments

31. Following a payment of moneys under section 30, all moneys subsequently collected or received by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of the first nation shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the first nation in accordance with the payment agreement.

Marginal note:Liability for payment

• 32. (1) Her Majesty is not liable for the decision by a first nation or its council to request a payment under section 7 or for any actions taken by the first nation or its council pursuant to the request.

• Marginal note:Liability for future management

  (2) Following the payment of moneys out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund into an account or a trust under section 30 or 31, Her Majesty is not liable for the payment or the management of those moneys.

Marginal note:Past liability

33. This Act does not affect the liability of Her Majesty or a first nation for any act or omission in respect of moneys occurring before a payment referred to in subsection 32(2).

POWERS RELATING TO OIL AND GAS

Marginal note:Ownership and management

• 34. (1) Subject to any other provision of this Act, a first nation named in Schedule 1 has the powers, rights and privileges of an owner in relation to oil and gas in the first nation’s managed area, including

  • (a) the power, in accordance with its oil and gas laws, to manage oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the managed area and to issue contracts in respect of the managed area; and

  • (b) the power, in accordance with its financial code, to collect oil and gas moneys from contract holders and to manage and expend those moneys.

• Marginal note:Exercise of powers

  (2) The powers of a first nation under subsection (1) shall be exercised by the council of the first nation or by any person, body or government to which the powers are delegated by the first nation’s oil and gas laws.

• Marginal note:Registration of contracts

  (3) A first nation shall send particulars relating to each contract issued by the first nation to the Minister for registration in the register established by the regulations or, if none has been established, in the applicable register referred to in subsection 26(1).

• Marginal note:Issuance of contracts

  (4) No contract may be issued for any activity in a managed area before oil and gas laws for the regulation of that activity are in force in the managed area.

Marginal note:Laws re exploration and exploitation

• 35. (1) Subject to sections 36 to 41 and 45, the council of a first nation named in Schedule 1 has the power, in accordance with its oil and gas code, to make laws respecting oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the first nation’s managed area, to the extent that those laws are not in relation to matters coming within the exclusive jurisdiction of a provincial legislature and may, in particular, make laws

  • (a) respecting the issuance and the terms and conditions of contracts, including

    • (i) any fees, rates, rents and royalties, including royalties in kind, to be reserved to the first nation by contract holders,

    • (ii) the interest payable on amounts owing to the first nation under a contract, and

    • (iii) administrative monetary penalties that may be assessed for failure to comply with the terms of a contract;

  • (b) respecting environmental assessments of projects in the managed area, and specifying circumstances in which an order may be made prohibiting the proponent of a project from undertaking work before the completion of an environmental assessment;

  • (c) respecting the protection of the environment from the effects of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the managed area;

  • (d) respecting the conservation of oil and gas in the managed area;

  • (e) establishing offences punishable on summary conviction and imposing fines, impris-onment, restitution and community service for the contravention of oil and gas laws and orders referred to in paragraph (b);

  • (f) respecting the inspection, search, seizure and detention of property within or outside the managed area for the purpose of ensuring compliance with oil and gas laws and for the enforcement of those laws; and

  • (g) respecting the auditing of records of contract holders within or outside the managed area for the purposes of contract administration.

• Marginal note:Coming into force

  (2) A first nation may exercise its power to make oil and gas laws at any time after the date of an affirmative vote under section 21, but no oil and gas law has effect before the first nation’s transfer date except to the extent necessary to make it effective on that date.

Marginal note:Excluded jurisdiction

36. For greater certainty, the power of a first nation to make oil and gas laws does not extend to laws in relation to

• (a) criminal law and criminal procedure;

• (b) labour relations, working conditions and occupational health and safety;

• (c) fish and fish habitat, within the meaning of the Fisheries Act, migratory birds, within the meaning of the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, and species at risk, within the meaning of the Species at Risk Act; or

• (d) international and interprovincial trade, including customs tariffs and export and import controls.

Marginal note:Projects to be subject to environmental assessment

• 37. (1) A first nation’s oil and gas laws must provide that no project, unless exempted by regulations made under subsection 63(2), may be undertaken until an environmental assessment of it has been conducted under those laws and every decision-making authority for the project has taken the results of the assessment into account in making any decision that would enable the project to be undertaken.

• Marginal note:Laws in conformity with regulations

  (2) The content of laws respecting environmental assessments of projects must conform with regulations made under subsection 63(1).

• Marginal note:Joint assessments and delegation

  (3) A decision-making authority for a project may, in respect of an environmental assessment of the project,

  • (a) enter into an agreement for the joint assessment of the project with any other person or body responsible for environmental assessments of that project under this Act or any other federal law; and

  • (b) delegate to another person or body any power, except the power to determine whether a project is to be carried out.

Marginal note:Environmental protection

38. Subject to the regulations, oil and gas laws must provide protection for the environment that is at least equal to that provided by the laws of the province applicable to oil and gas exploration and exploitation.

Marginal note:Oil and gas conservation

39. Subject to the regulations, oil and gas laws with respect to the conservation of oil and gas must not conflict with or be inconsistent with the laws of the province applicable to oil and gas exploration and exploitation.

Marginal note:Limitation on penalties

40. The punishment that may be imposed by an oil and gas law for an offence is

• (a) if the act or omission constituting the offence results in damage to lands in the managed area,

  • (i) in the case of a first offence, a fine not exceeding $300,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both, and

  • (ii) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, a fine not exceeding $600,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both; and

• (b) in any other case, a fine not exceeding $100,000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months, or both.

Marginal note:Powers re inspections, searches, etc.

41. Oil and gas laws made under paragraph 35(1)(f) may not establish procedures inconsistent with those provided by the laws of the province in which the managed area is situated, nor may they confer powers greater than those of a public officer within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

42. Oil and gas laws may incorporate by reference laws of the province in which the managed area is located as they are amended from time to time.

Marginal note:Agreement with province

43. An oil and gas law may, in accordance with an agreement between a first nation and the government of the province in which its managed area is located,

• (a) specify the respective responsibilities of the first nation and the province for the administration and enforcement of oil and gas laws; and

• (b) provide for access by officers of the first nation and the province, respectively, to the managed area for the enforcement of oil and gas laws.

Marginal note:Public access to oil and gas laws

• 44. (1) A first nation shall maintain at its principal administrative office the originals of its oil and gas code and its oil and gas laws, and all persons shall be given reasonable access to them during normal business hours.

• Marginal note:Certified copies

  (2) At the request of any person and on payment of a fee not exceeding the cost of the service, a first nation shall provide a copy of its oil and gas code or an oil and gas law certified to be a true copy by a person so authorized by the first nation.

• Marginal note:Proof of laws

  (3) In the absence of evidence to the contrary, a certified copy of an oil and gas code or an oil and gas law is proof of the original without proof of the signature or official character of the person appearing to have certified the copy.

• Marginal note:Statutory Instruments Act

  (4) The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an oil and gas code or the oil and gas laws of a first nation.