First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act (S.C. 2005, c. 48)

Marginal note:Law of trusts

• 12 (1) Laws of general application in relation to trusts and trustees in force in the province in which the trust instrument is executed apply in respect of a trust established for the purposes of this Act except to the extent that those laws conflict with this Act.

• Marginal note:Rules against perpetuities and accumulations

  (2) A trust established for the purposes of this Act is exempt from the application of any rule of common law that limits the period within which a beneficial interest must vest or the period during which income may be accumulated.

Marginal note:Councillors as trustees

• 13 (1) A member of the council of a first nation may not be made a trustee ex officio of a trust established for the purposes of this Act.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not preclude a member of a council from serving as a trustee in the member’s personal capacity.

Marginal note:Security required of trustees

14 Every trustee of a trust established for the purposes of this Act other than a trust company shall, before moneys are paid into a trust referred to in section 10 or 11, and at any other time when the council so requests, provide to the council of the first nation

• (a) evidence of bonding, insurance or other form of security, in an amount equal to the amount held in the trust, for the recovery of any loss occasioned by theft or by breach of the conditions of the trust; and

• (b) evidence that the trustee fulfils the requirements of provincial law, if any, as to the minimum financial worth of trustees generally.

Marginal note:Oil and gas transfer agreement

15 After a first nation has prepared the codes referred to in section 10, the Minister and the first nation may conclude a transfer agreement setting out arrangements for the transfer to the first nation of the management and regulation of oil and gas.

Marginal note:Moneys payment agreement

16 After a first nation has prepared the codes referred to in section 11, the Minister and the first nation may conclude a payment agreement setting out arrangements for the payment of moneys to the first nation.

Approval Procedure

Marginal note:Approval of transfer

17 After a transfer agreement has been concluded under section 15, the first nation may conduct a vote among its eligible voters, in accordance with the regulations, on the ratification of the oil and gas code and the financial code referred to in section 10 and the approval of the transfer to the first nation of the management and regulation of oil and gas exploration and exploitation.

Marginal note:Approval of payment

18 After a payment agreement has been concluded under section 16, the first nation may conduct a vote among its eligible voters, in accordance with the regulations, on the ratification of the financial code referred to in section 11 and the approval of the payment of moneys to the first nation in accordance with the code.

Marginal note:Combined vote on oil, gas and moneys

19 If agreements have been concluded under both sections 15 and 16, a single vote may be conducted for the purposes of sections 17 and 18.

Marginal note:Eligibility to vote

• 20 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a first nation member, whether resident on the reserve or not, is an eligible voter if the member’s name appears on the band list and the member has reached the age of eighteen years on the date of the vote.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) In the case of a first nation that is not the subject of an order made under section 74 of the Indian Act, a first nation member, whether resident on the reserve or not, is an eligible voter if the member’s name appears on the band list and the member has, on the date of the vote, reached the eligible age for participation in the selection of the first nation’s council according to the custom of the first nation.

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 Minister 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 of a resolution of a first nation’s council advising of a change in the name of the first nation, the Minister 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 Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act applies, the First Nation Lands Register, within the meaning of subsection 2(2) 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.