Land use agreement marks ‘exciting time’ for First Nation

The first northern Ontario First Nation to opt out of the Indian Act as it applies to land use decisions says it has taken a huge step towards self-governance.
Under a federal government land use management agreement signed Jan. 24, Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA) was given full authority over the development of its reserve lands. The agreement means the First Nation will no longer be governed by 34 land-use sections of the Indian Act.
BNA Chief Paul Gladue said the agreements will help the First Nation attract private business partnerships into the community.
“What it does is open up many doors for economic development,” said Chief Paul Gladue. “We now don’t have to go through the bureaucratic system, we won’t have two-year land designations and the cost of doing that.”
BNA is one of 18 First Nations communities across Canada accepted under the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management, and one of only two Ontario First Nations.
The agreement essentially means that when it comes to reserve lands, the community – not the federal government – has the final say on development and land use.
Gladue explained that previously any land use decision made by chief and council had to be ratified by the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, with final approval given by the minister. That process took up to three years, he said, a time frame that often jeopardized partnerships with industry.
The BNA chief listed a range of projects the community has planned, including a sawmill, a wood pellet plant and an eco-lodge resort, that will now be able to go ahead without requiring federal government approval.
Kenora MP Greg Rickford, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, said the agreement on First Nations Land Management is an example of practical adjustments to the Indian Act – something chiefs from across Canada were calling for at the First Nations-federal government summit on Jan. 24.
“The First Nation Land Management Act is a serious exercise for First Nation communities to get out from underneath almost one-quarter of the provisions in the Indian Act, with respect to self governance, land use planning, full authority over use of their land and any resources it represents,” Rickford said.
Wilfred King, director of operations for BNA, said the next step for the First Nation is creating an operational regime of how lands are to be controlled on the reserve. That regime could include things like where residential, commercial and industrial activity will be allowed, and the process by which the community will allow outside companies to use reserve lands.
King said members of the First Nation will be asked to vote on the operational regime after it is finished.
Once that happens, BNA will be officially independent from the federal government in terms of land use designations.
According to both King and Gladue, that is a huge step in the First Nation’s self-governance.
“This opens the door for the First Nation to benefit itself economically,” Gladue said. “It’s a very exciting time for the First Nation.”