First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act (S.C. 2005, c. 48)
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Assented to 2005-11-25
First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act
S.C. 2005, c. 48
Assented to 2005-11-25
An Act to provide first nations with the option of managing and regulating oil and gas exploration and exploitation and of receiving moneys otherwise held for them by Canada
SUMMARY
The purpose of this enactment is to enable any first nation subject to the Indian Act, if it chooses to do so, to assume the direct management and regulation of oil and gas exploration and exploitation currently carried out on its behalf by Indian Oil and Gas Canada. It would also allow any first nation to receive and manage moneys that are derived from any source on reserve lands and that would otherwise be retained or collected, and managed on its behalf, by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The decision to do so, in either case, would be made in a referendum conducted among eligible members of the first nation.
Preamble
WHEREAS the White Bear First Nation entered into Treaty Number Four with Her Majesty on September 23, 1875 and the Blood and Siksika (Blackfoot) First Nations entered into Treaty Number Seven with Her Majesty on September 22, 1877;
WHEREAS existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada were recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982;
WHEREAS the White Bear, Blood and Siksika First Nations wish to assume control of oil and gas in their reserve lands and related revenues, and control of current and future moneys that would otherwise be held for them by Canada;
WHEREAS those first nations have, since 1994, entered into a series of agreements with the Government of Canada for the co-management of oil and gas in their reserve lands;
WHEREAS the same first nations have participated with the Government of Canada in the development of proposals for legislation for the transfer of control of oil and gas and of moneys held for them;
AND WHEREAS it is recognized that such legislation could also benefit other first nations if they chose to avail themselves of it;
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
Marginal note:Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act.
INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION
Marginal note:Definitions
2. (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.
“contract”
« contrat »
“contract” means a licence, permit or lease granting a surface or subsurface right or interest in land — or an instrument evidencing an easement, a right-of-way, a right of entry or any other disposition of a right or interest in land — that is granted, issued or made for the purposes of oil or gas exploration or exploitation.
“decision-making authority”
« autorité décisionnelle »
“decision-making authority”, in relation to a project, means a person or body having power under section 34 or under a first nation’s oil and gas laws to make any decision that is required in order for the project to be undertaken.
“environmental assessment”
« évaluation environnementale »
“environmental assessment”, in relation to a project in a managed area, means an assessment of the project’s effects on the environment conducted in one or more stages in accordance with a first nation’s oil and gas laws.
“exploitation”
« exploitation »
“exploitation”, in relation to oil or gas, means its extraction, production, storage, distribution, processing or refining, or its use to generate electrical energy, to the extent that those activities relate to lands in a managed area.
“exploration”
« exploration »
“exploration” includes surveying, mapping, test drilling and geological, geophysical and geochemical examinations carried out in pursuit of oil or gas.
“financial institution”
« institution financière »
“financial institution” means a bank or a trust company.
“first nation”
« première nation »
“first nation” means a band within the meaning of the Indian Act.
“first nation member”
« membre de la première nation »
“first nation member” means a person whose name appears on the band list of a first nation or who is entitled to have their name appear on that list.
“gas”
« gaz »
“gas” means natural gas that can be produced from a well, including natural gas from a coal bed, and includes marketable gas as well as condensate and other fluid components of natural gas that are not oil.
“managed area”
« secteur aménagé »
“managed area” means a managed area as described in section 25.
“Minister”
« ministre »
“Minister” means the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
“oil”
« pétrole »
“oil” means any hydrocarbon that can be extracted or recovered in liquid form from surface or subsurface deposits, other than condensate, or that can be extracted or recovered from bitumen, bituminous sands, oil sands or oil shale.
“oil and gas law”
« texte pétrolier ou gazier »
“oil and gas law” means a law made by a first nation under section 35.
“oil and gas moneys”
« recettes pétrolières ou gazières »
“oil and gas moneys” means moneys derived from oil or gas exploration or exploitation within the managed area of a first nation after the first nation’s transfer date, and includes fines recovered for offences under oil and gas laws.
“project”
« projet »
“project” means
(a) any proposed construction, operation, modification, decommissioning or abandonment of an installation used for oil or gas exploration or exploitation, or any other proposed undertaking in relation to such an installation; or
(b) any proposed exploration activity of a kind that is defined, by the regulations or by a first nation’s oil and gas laws, as a project for the purposes of environmental assessments.
“transfer date”
« date de transfert »
“transfer date”, in relation to a first nation, means the date on which the first nation’s name is added to Schedule 1 under subsection 22(1).
“trust company”
« société de fiducie »
“trust company” means a trust company under subsection 57(2) of the Trust and Loan Companies Act, or a company incorporated by or under a provincial Act that carries on the business of a trust company, that is a member institution within the meaning of section 2 of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act.
Marginal note:Expressions in Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
(2) In this Act, “environment” and “environmental effect” have the same meaning as in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Marginal note:Expressions in Indian Act
(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Indian Act.
Marginal note:For greater certainty
3. For greater certainty,
(a) Her Majesty’s title to lands in a managed area is not affected by this Act;
(b) lands in a managed area continue to be set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of the first nation for which they were set apart;
(c) lands in a managed area continue to be lands reserved for the Indians within the meaning of Class 24 of section 91 of the Constitution Act, 1867;
(d) this Act does not affect the ability of a first nation to participate in and benefit from any federal government program; and
(e) nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to abrogate or derogate from the protection provided for existing aboriginal or treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada by the recognition and affirmation of those rights in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
Marginal note:Territorial lands
4. This Act does not apply in respect of reserve lands in Yukon or in respect of frontier lands within the meaning of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act.
Marginal note:Individual moneys
5. This Act does not apply in respect of moneys collected, received or held by Her Majesty in right of Canada under the Indian Act for the use and benefit of an individual.
REQUESTS FOR TRANSFER
Marginal note:Council resolution — oil and gas
6. The council of a first nation may submit to the Minister a written resolution of the council requesting the transfer to the first nation of the management and regulation of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in its reserve lands.
Marginal note:Council resolution — moneys
7. The council of a first nation may submit to the Minister a written resolution of the council requesting the payment to the first nation of
(a) moneys held by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of the first nation; and
(b) moneys to be collected or received in future by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of the first nation.
Marginal note:Information from Minister — oil and gas
8. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), following receipt of a resolution under section 6, the Minister shall provide to the first nation, if the first nation does not already possess them,
(a) copies of all contracts issued in respect of the first nation’s reserve lands that are in force and of any documents evidencing designations of those lands under the Indian Act;
(b) copies of any documents in the Minister’s possession respecting contracts referred to in paragraph (a) that relate to periods after the issuance of those contracts;
(c) particulars of all moneys payable under contracts referred to in paragraph (a); and
(d) any documents in the Minister’s possession with respect to contaminated sites on the first nation’s reserve.
Marginal note:Timetable for providing information
(2) Following receipt of a resolution under section 6, the Minister shall provide the first nation with a timetable for delivery of the documents and information referred to in subsection (1).
Marginal note:Exclusion of confidential information
(3) The Minister shall not provide information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege or is otherwise privileged at law.
Marginal note:Exclusion of confidential information
(4) The Minister is not required to provide information that may, or must, be withheld under any federal law.
Marginal note:Restriction
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply in respect of information provided to the Minister by a contract holder.
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