An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts, and to make a clarification relating to another Act
This bill has received Royal Assent and is, or will soon become, law.
Summary
This is from the published bill.
This enactment amends the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to expand and modernize the mandates of the First Nations Tax Commission and the First Nations Financial Management Board in order to better reflect their current and future activities. The enactment also establishes a First Nations Infrastructure Institute that will provide First Nations and other interested Indigenous groups and organizations with tools and support, including with respect to best practices, to implement and manage their infrastructure. It also provides First Nations named in the schedule to the First Nations Fiscal Management Act with the power to make laws to regulate services provided by or on behalf of the First Nations. The enactment also aims to improve the functioning of that Act, including by integrating the content of the Financing Secured by Other Revenues Regulations , by combining into a single fund the debt reserve fund for financing secured by property tax revenues and the debt reserve fund for financing secured by other revenues and by simplifying the way certain Indigenous groups participate in pooled-borrowing. Finally, the enactment makes consequential amendments to the Access to Information Act and to the Privacy Act and includes a clarification that addresses a transitional administrative oversight that followed the establishment in 2019 of the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and the Department of Indigenous Services.
Elsewhere
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Bill numbers are reused for different bills each new session. Perhaps you were looking for one of these other C-45s:
This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below.
Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bill C-45 amends the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to expand First Nations' jurisdiction over financial management, taxation, and infrastructure. It establishes the First Nations Infrastructure Institute, modernizes the First Nations Financial Management Board and the First Nations Tax Commission, and aims to improve infrastructure outcomes for First Nations communities by allowing them to access capital markets and make their own decisions regarding infrastructure projects. The bill is optional and seeks to provide First Nations with increased autonomy and capacity in managing their financial and infrastructure affairs.
Liberal
Supports Bill C-45: The speaker indicates the Liberal party supports Bill C-45 and its alignment with the recommendations from the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee's report on removing barriers to economic development in Indigenous communities. The bill aims to promote economic reconciliation and self-determination.
Optional legislation: The legislation is optional for First Nations, providing an alternative to the Indian Act regime. This optionality is emphasized as crucial, respecting the choices of Indigenous communities in managing their affairs, consistent with the UNDRIP Act.
Empowering First Nations: The bill empowers First Nations to assert jurisdiction over financial management, taxation, and access to capital markets. Bill C-45 was co-developed with First Nations institutions to improve and expand available services, and to establish the First Nations Infrastructure Institute.
Infrastructure institute: The bill would establish a First Nations Infrastructure Institute, a national Indigenous-led organization to support First Nations in achieving sustainable infrastructure outcomes. It would serve as a center of excellence for Indigenous infrastructure across Canada.
Conservative
Supports Indigenous infrastructure control: The Conservatives support the bill, as it reflects their proposal to empower First Nations governments to control their land, resources, money, and decisions, particularly regarding infrastructure development. The bill allows First Nations to monetize future revenues for long-term asset building, similar to other governments, and promotes public-private partnerships for community projects.
Reduce federal barriers: The Conservatives advocate for reducing federal bureaucracy and empowering First Nations to make their own decisions, citing examples where federal processes hinder progress. They believe the bill is a step towards removing obstacles and enabling First Nations to develop essential infrastructure projects.
Repeal anti-development laws: Beyond the current bill, the Conservatives aim to repeal laws like Bill C-69, which they view as detrimental to Indigenous rights by hindering resource development projects. They propose a new model where First Nations retain more revenue from their projects, fostering local autonomy and economic growth.
First Nations lead prosperity: The Conservatives envision a future where First Nations lead the country in prosperity by removing gatekeepers, enabling local autonomy in resource management, and fostering job creation. They emphasize that First Nations are showing that they are better places to do business than the municipalities next to them.
NDP
Supports Bill C-45: The NDP is pleased to support Bill C-45, which aims to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act. The bill is seen as a way to open doors for First Nations to build their administrative, financial, and governance capacity.
Infrastructure institute: Bill C-45 would create an indigenous-led First Nations infrastructure institute, allowing First Nations to make decisions about owning, building, and maintaining infrastructure in their communities. This is considered a response to the historical failures of Liberal and Conservative governments to adequately invest in First Nations infrastructure.
Not true reconciliation: While supporting the bill, the NDP emphasizes that it is not a substitute for true economic reconciliation. True reconciliation would involve First Nations, Inuit, and Métis thriving off the land based on their expertise and knowledge, with free, prior, and informed consent at the forefront of any development.
Empowering First Nations: Bill C-45 is viewed as a step towards empowering First Nations to make choices and act independently of federal government assistance. While the NDP supports the bill, they remain committed to advocating for meaningful reconciliation for Inuit, First Nations, and Métis.
Uqaqtittiji, this is very much a question about whether there can be true self-determination as indigenous peoples have been suppressed and oppressed for so long, which is why I made sure in my presentation that I talked about the genocidal policies still having an impact on first nations, Métis and Inuit communities. We have to start making sure that if we are going to talk about self-determination, if we are going to talk about reconciliation, there need to be continued investments, there need to be improved and increased investments, that allow first nations, Métis and Inuit to thrive and have a better well-being at the same level that other Canadians do here in Canada.
Links & Sharing
First Nations Fiscal Management ActGovernment Orders
There being no further members rising, pursuant to an order made earlier today, Bill C-45, an act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, to make consequential amendments to other acts, and to make a clarification relating to another act is deemed read a third time and passed.
