Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act

Marginal note:Definitions

• 2 (1) The following definitions apply in this Act.

  council

  council, in relation to a First Nation, has the same meaning as the expression council of the band in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act. (conseil)

  court

  court, unless otherwise indicated, means, in respect of a province, the court referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (e) of the definition court in subsection 2(1) of the Divorce Act. (tribunal)

  designated judge

  designated judge, in respect of a province, means any of the following persons who are authorized by the lieutenant governor in council of the province to act as a designated judge for the purposes of this Act:

  • (a) a justice of the peace appointed by the lieutenant governor in council of the province;

  • (b) a judge of the court in the province; or

  • (c) a judge of a court established under the laws of the province. (juge désigné)

  family home

  family home means a structure — that need not be affixed but that must be situated on reserve land — where the spouses or common-law partners habitually reside or, if they have ceased to cohabit or one of them has died, where they habitually resided on the day on which they ceased to cohabit or the death occurred. If the structure is normally used for a purpose in addition to a residential purpose, this definition includes only the portion of the structure that may reasonably be regarded as necessary for the residential purpose. (foyer familial)

  First Nation

  First Nation means a band as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act. (première nation)

  First Nation member

  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. (membre de la première nation)

  interest or right

  interest or right means

  • (a) the following interests or rights referred to in the Indian Act:

    • (i) a right to possession, with or without a Certificate of Possession or a Certificate of Occupation, allotted in accordance with section 20 of that Act,

    • (ii) a permit referred to in subsection 28(2) of that Act, and

    • (iii) a lease under section 53 or 58 of that Act;

  • (b) an interest or right in or to reserve land that is subject to any First Nation law as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act or to any land code within the meaning of subsection 2(2) of that Act, to any First Nation law enacted under a self-government agreement to which Her Majesty in right of Canada is a party, or to any land governance code adopted, or any Kanesatake Mohawk law enacted, under the Kanesatake Interim Land Base Governance Act; and

  • (c) an interest or right in or to a structure — that need not be affixed but that must be situated on reserve land that is not the object of an interest or right referred to in paragraph (a) — which interest or right is recognized by the First Nation on whose reserve the structure is situated or by a court order made under section 48. (droit ou intérêt)

  matrimonial interests or rights

  matrimonial interests or rights means interests or rights, other than interests or rights in or to the family home, held by at least one of the spouses or common-law partners

  • (a) that were acquired during the conjugal relationship;

  • (b) that were acquired before the conjugal relationship but in specific contemplation of the relationship; or

  • (c) that were acquired before the conjugal relationship but not in specific contemplation of the relationship and that appreciated during the relationship.

  It excludes interests or rights that were received from a person as a gift or legacy or on devise or descent, and interests or rights that can be traced to those interests or rights. (droits ou intérêts matrimoniaux)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Indigenous Services. (ministre)

  peace officer

  peace officer means a person referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition peace officer in section 2 of the Criminal Code.  (agent de la paix)

  spouse

  spouse includes either of two persons who have entered in good faith into a marriage that is voidable or void. (époux)

• Marginal note:Words and expressions

  (2) Unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meaning as in the Indian Act.

• Marginal note:Agreement between spouses or common-law partners

  (3) For greater certainty, for the purposes of this Act, an agreement between spouses or common-law partners includes an agreement reached through the use of traditional dispute resolution.

• Marginal note:Former spouse or common-law partner

  (4) For the purposes of the definition matrimonial interests or rights in subsection (1), subsection (3), section 6, subsections 15(2), (4) and (5) and sections 16, 20, 26, 28 to 33, 43, 45, 48, 49 and 54, a spouse or common-law partner includes a former spouse or common-law partner.

• Marginal note:Term not restrictive

  (5) The use of the term application to describe a proceeding in a court under this Act must not be construed as limiting the name under which and the form and manner in which that proceeding may be taken in that court, and the name, manner and form of the proceeding in that court are those that are provided for by the rules regulating the practice and procedure in that court.

• Marginal note:Kanesatake

  (6) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to a reserve is also a reference to the Kanesatake Mohawk interim land base as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Kanesatake Interim Land Base Governance Act.