Nunavut Waters and Nunavut Surface Rights Tribunal Act (S.C. 2002, c. 10)

Marginal note:Location of hearing

123. Unless the parties agree otherwise,

• (a) an application under section 155 or 167 in relation to an order made under section 155 shall be heard in a community that is convenient to the claimant; and

• (b) any other application shall be heard in the community that is closest to the land involved.

Marginal note:Hearing of applications

• 124. (1) An application to the Tribunal shall be heard by a panel consisting of three members or, if the parties consent, by one member. If one of the members of a panel is absent, the hearing may continue with only one of the members if the parties consent, but if the parties do not consent, the application shall be reheard by another panel or member.

• Marginal note:Disposition of application

  (2) A member who is not present during the entire hearing of an application may not participate in the disposition of the application.

• Marginal note:Residency requirement

  (3) Where an application involves Inuit-owned land, at least two of the members of the panel hearing the application, or in the case of an application heard by one member, that member, shall be resident in Nunavut.

Marginal note:Assignment of members

• 125. (1) Members shall be assigned to panels in accordance with the by-laws of the Tribunal or, in the absence of by-laws respecting the assignment of members, by the Chairperson.

• Marginal note:Conflict of interest

  (2) A member shall not be assigned to, or continue to, hear an application if doing so would place the member in a material conflict of interest.

• Marginal note:Status of Inuk or interest in land

  (3) A member is not placed in a material conflict of interest merely because the member has the status under the Agreement of an Inuk or has an interest in land in Nunavut.

Marginal note:Powers, duties and functions

• 126. (1) A panel, or member hearing an application, has all of the powers, and shall perform all of the duties and functions, of the Tribunal in relation to the application.

• Marginal note:Status of order

  (2) Any order disposing of an application is an order of the Tribunal.

Marginal note:Information made available

127. Before disposing of an application, the Tribunal shall make any information that it intends to use in the disposition available to the parties and provide them with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the information.

Marginal note:References to Federal Court

128. The Tribunal may, at any stage of its proceedings, refer to the Federal Court any question or issue of law or of jurisdiction, other than a question or issue that has been referred to an arbitration panel established under Article 38 of the Agreement.

Records

Marginal note:Records

• 129. (1) The Tribunal shall

  • (a) keep a public record of all applications made to the Tribunal and orders and other decisions made by the Tribunal in respect of applications;

  • (b) issue, on request and on payment of such fee as the Tribunal may fix, certified copies of any order or other decision, rule or by-law made by the Tribunal; and

  • (c) have the custody and care of all documents filed with the Tribunal.

• Marginal note:Fees

  (2) Any fee received by the Tribunal under paragraph (1)(b) may be used by the Tribunal for its operations.

Rules

Marginal note:Procedures, mediation and costs

• 130. (1) The Tribunal may make rules

  • (a) respecting the practice and procedure in relation to applications to and hearings before the Tribunal, including the service of documents and the imposition of reasonable time limits;

  • (b) establishing procedures that may be followed in the mediation of matters in dispute; and

  • (c) respecting the allowance of costs, including rules

    • (i) establishing a schedule of fees and other expenses incurred by a party in relation to applications to or hearings before the Tribunal that may be allowed as part of that party’s costs under this Part, and

    • (ii) respecting the circumstances under which the Tribunal may allow costs with respect to matters dealt with in the schedule of fees and other expenses on a basis other than that established by the schedule.

• Marginal note:Negotiations

  (2) The Tribunal shall make rules establishing procedures to be followed in the conduct of negotiations for the purposes of subsection 117(1), either generally or with respect to any class of applications.

Marginal note:Non-application of Statutory Instruments Act

131. Sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act do not apply in respect of the rules of the Tribunal.

Marginal note:Pre-publication

• 132. (1) The Tribunal shall give notice at least sixty days before making a rule by

  • (a) publishing the proposed rule in a newspaper or other periodical that, in the opinion of the Tribunal, has a large circulation in Nunavut; and

  • (b) sending a copy of the proposed rule to the council of each municipality in Nunavut.

• Marginal note:Representations invited

  (2) The notice referred to in subsection (1) shall include an invitation to interested persons to make representations in writing to the Tribunal about the proposed rule within sixty days after publication of the notice.

• Marginal note:Response to representations

  (3) The Tribunal may not make the rule until after it has responded to any representations made within the time limit referred to in subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Exception

  (4) Once a notice is published under subsection (1), no further notice is required to be published about any amendment to the proposed rule that results from representations made by interested persons.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (5) As soon as possible after the rule has been made, the Tribunal shall

  • (a) publish it in a newspaper or other periodical that, in the opinion of the Tribunal, has a large circulation in Nunavut; and

  • (b) publish a notice in the Canada Gazette that the rule has been made, indicating the newspaper or periodical in which it has been published.

Division 2Entry Orders for Inuit-Owned Lands

Exercise of Mineral Rights

Marginal note:Use and occupation

133. On application by any person

• (a) who has a mineral right granted by Her Majesty in right of Canada in relation to Inuit-owned land, and

• (b) who has been unable to obtain the consent of the designated Inuit organization,

the Tribunal shall make an entry order setting out the terms and conditions for the use and occupation of that land to the extent necessary for the purpose of exercising the mineral right.

Marginal note:Prospecting right

• 134. (1) A person who has a right to prospect for minerals and who applies under section 133 for an entry order to exercise that right on Inuit-owned land shall make a separate application in respect of each parcel of that land.

• Marginal note:Confidentiality

  (2) In disposing of an application made by a person who has a right to prospect for minerals, the Tribunal shall take into account the need to provide confidentiality for that person.

• Definition of “parcel”

  (3) In subsection (1), “parcel” means the portion of land represented by a code of letters and numbers in the property description, as defined in section 19.1.1 of the Agreement, used for the purposes of conveying title to Inuit-owned land.

Marginal note:Access to other land

• 135. (1) Subject to subsection (2), on application by any person

  • (a) who requires access to Inuit-owned land in order to exercise a mineral right, granted under an Act of Parliament, in relation to any other land, and

  • (b) who has been unable to obtain the consent of the designated Inuit organization,

  the Tribunal shall make an entry order setting out the terms and conditions for access to that Inuit-owned land to the extent necessary for the purpose of exercising the mineral right.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) The Tribunal shall not make an entry order under subsection (1) unless the applicant satisfies the Tribunal that the access is reasonably required.

Other Commercial Purposes

Marginal note:Right to cross

• 136. (1) Subject to subsection (2), on application by any person

  • (a) who requires access across Inuit-owned land for a commercial purpose, and

  • (b) who has been unable to obtain the consent of the designated Inuit organization,

  the Tribunal shall make an entry order setting out the terms and conditions for the access.

• Marginal note:Restriction

  (2) The Tribunal shall not make an entry order under subsection (1) unless an arbitration panel established under Article 38 of the Agreement has, in accordance with the Agreement,

  • (a) established that the applicant attempted for a period of not less than sixty days to negotiate the access in good faith;

  • (b) determined that the access is essential to the commercial purposes of the applicant and that access by any other means is physically or financially impractical; and

  • (c) designated a route of access that will minimize any damage to the Inuit-owned land and interference with Inuit use of that land.

• Marginal note:Terms and conditions

  (3) An entry order made under subsection (1) shall include terms and conditions to minimize any damage to the Inuit-owned land and interference with Inuit use of that land.

• Marginal note:Compensation dispute

  (4) Where the designated Inuit organization has consented to permit a person to cross Inuit-owned land for commercial purposes but that organization and that person are unable to agree on appropriate compensation, the Tribunal shall, on application by that organization or person, make an order resolving the matter.