Thank you. It is our pleasure to be back before the committee today. I was hoping that my wife might actually attend during this lunch session, but she hasn't made it yet.
Today, what we're going to talk about is the subject of land management programs on reserve. We're going to take you through the legal responsibilities associated with administration of reserve lands, describe the programs that have been established to support first nations in managing their lands, and also try to discuss with you as a committee some of the potential trends for the future where we think we would be taking programming.
The first point that I wanted to talk a bit about is lands administration as compared to lands management. There are many first nations that desire complete autonomy in managing their lands, either under comprehensive self-government arrangements or under specific lands authority provided for under the first nations land management regime. However, it's very important to know that there remain many first nations that do not want to terminate Canada's role in respect of lands under the Indian Act. Despite the limitations imposed by the Indian Act, these first nations want Canada to remain involved and consider that Canada owes specific fiduciary obligations related to reserve lands.
Even with those first nations that prefer to have Canada involved with reserve lands, it is important to note that there has been a considerable evolution over the years in the roles and responsibilities of Canada, or this department, and first nations in respect of land management on reserve. As a result, there has been considerable change in the department's lands programs and the importance of the topic today.
At one time, Canada undertook virtually the entire range of land management functions, including a significant role in deciding upon the nature of land development, the terms of land deals to be negotiated with third parties, as well as the administration of those land arrangements. At that time, there was very little role for first nations in the day-to-day decision-making.
Times have changed, even though much of the language of the Indian Act has not evolved and the department's role in lands is now more limited. Internally within the department, we tend to draw a distinction between the department's role in administering Indian Act systems and a significant role for first nations in the rest of land management. An interesting illustration of this type of evolution over time in roles and responsibilities is provided by looking at section 32 of the Indian Act, which provides as follows:
A transaction of any kind whereby a band or a member thereof purports to sell, barter, exchange, give or otherwise dispose of cattle or other animals, grain or hay, whether wild or cultivated, or root crops or plants or their products from a reserve in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta, to a person other than a member of that band, is void unless the superintendent approves the transaction in writing.
I should pause to say that the superintendent, of course, was an internal departmental official. Furthermore,
The Minister may at any time by order exempt a band and the members thereof or any member thereof from the operation of this section, and may revoke any such order.
The interesting thing is that the minister has issued an order to exempt all Indian Act bands from the restrictions set out in section 32 of the act. So even those first nations that want Canada to administer lands are not subject to this very restrictive example of federal land management and control.
The federal role in administering Indian Act land systems includes such matters as operating the Indian lands registry, operating the computerized systems for collecting revenues, and tracking environmental obligations. In respect of individual land transactions, the federal administrative role includes such matters as signing or executing final leases, collecting revenues under the leases, and enforcing compliance with Indian Act terms.
The broader first nation role in managing lands, even those operating under the Indian Act, extends to such matters as deciding on the extent of commercial and residential development as opposed to the balance with conservation on reserve lands, and leading the negotiation of the terms and nature of land tenure with individuals and businesses. Admittedly in some communities, first nations have chosen to bypass the Indian Act entirely and not deal with the department for land administration or land programs, but in those communities it's very difficult to effectively manage any complex development in this matter.
Even though there has been an evolution of this type over the years towards greater responsibility of first nations for land management, it has to be said that there remain severe restrictions under the Indian Act. Under the Indian Act, Canada is ultimately exposed to potential liability for land transactions, and Canada could, for example, be sued for failing to obtain satisfactory terms of leases or satisfactory revenues under leases. This is a fundamental drawback of the Indian Act system of land management whereby Canada and first nations face different risks and different considerations regarding legal liability, and there is a heavy administrative burden in relation to the land transactions, often resulting in delays.
Just to go back over this, you'll remember Chief Louie's appearance here when he discussed the change that he saw in his community with the FNLM regime. He drew the example of the first-ever chartered bank outlet on a reserve, and described just how frustrating it can be to have the economic transaction and the legal risks second-guessed by the department, when the department is trying to avoid liability for transactions.
Within these limitations of the Indian Act, we recognize that true management of reserve lands can only be done at the community level with input from individual band members. So three broad categories of programs have been developed and are provided to assist first nations in managing their lands: investments in land-use planning, including environmental and economic considerations; capacity and training for individuals involved in land and environmental management; and targeted financial support for key land management transactions and functions. These programs need to respond to the very considerable variations in land use and sustainability challenges faced by first nations all across Canada.
One of the first programs I'll describe is what we typically call RLAP and 53/60.
Several attempts have been made to respond to the diversity of needs. Beginning in the 1980s, two programs were established to assist first nations in participating in the management of their lands. The first was the delegated authority program, which is often referred to as 53/60, reflecting sections 53 and 60 of the Indian Act, which expressly set out the authority of the minister to delegate certain land management powers. Bands that operate under this 53/60 program have broad authority to execute a number of land transactions, including land allotments--as we discussed when talking about certificates of possession before this committee--issuing permits and leases, reviewing rents, and collecting revenues.
Recognizing that many first nations do not wish to have a fully delegated scope of responsibility under one of these formal delegations of authority under 53/60, the department also established the reserve land administration program, which we call RLAP. It's a program that provides support to first nations so they can work together with departmental staff to administer lands.
Another program is what we call RLEMP. In 2002 an evaluation of the reserve land administration program and the delegated authority program concluded that these programs should address a broader scope of land management and not just administration of Indian Act land transactions. The department designed a successor initiative, which is the reserve land and environment management program, or RLEMP. This program, unlike the RLAP and 53/60 programs, invests in the development of first nations land managers and provides for their professional certification. So there's a significant capacity-building component.
The training component of the program is delivered in partnership with the University of Saskatchewan and the National Aboriginal Lands Managers Association. The university courses are designed to give students a general knowledge of key areas of land and environmental management, while the technical training is delivered by NALMA to focus on land transactions under the Indian Act.
Turning to what we talked about with the committee before, the first nations land management regime, each of the three land management programs described so far suffers from this same limitation. They're focused on first nations participation in managing lands pursuant to the Indian Act, whilst the department has to have a significant role under the Indian Act. The risks and the limitations inherent in managing lands under the Indian Act cannot be fully addressed through these programs, and first nations under these programs cannot break away from ministerial oversight and exercise full self-governing authority over land, resource, and environmental decisions.
To truly transfer not only responsibility but also authority for land management, a different response was needed. With this goal in mind, 14 first nations negotiated with Canada the framework agreement on lands management in 1996, which was later ratified and brought into force as the First Nations Land Management Act. As we discussed with this committee on October 6, the first nations land management regime displaces the 34 land-related sections of the Indian Act and grants full authority to first nations to establish their own laws and to carry out the management responsibilities independent of the department.
Now, to discuss the current situation, there are presently 164 first nations participating in the RLAP, 53/60, and RLEMP programs, and the total budget is $13 million. The FNLM regime includes 35 first nations operating under their own land codes, 3 first nations progressing actively towards becoming operational, and more than 80 wishing to join the regime. The current annual operating budget for FNLM is approximately $15 million, though Budget 2011 included a commitment to reallocate further funding.
In addition to these programs, there are other funds available to first nations to manage their lands, resources, and environment. Approximately $1.5 million is available each year to fund commercial leasing activities. Funding is provided directly to first nations where they want to engage in a designation and have a commercial lease. This includes funds for professional fees and expenses for legal advice, engineering, land appraisals, surveys, environmental site assessments, and expenditures related to community consultation and engagement for these designation and leasing activities.
One million dollars is spent annually on community environmental projects such as environmental management training, conservation plans, climate change strategies, and resource planning. There is also a federal government-wide program to assess and remediate environmental contamination on federal lands, including reserve lands. South of 60, the budget this year is $12.3 million.
There is of course an increasing recognition that land management and community economic development are inextricably linked. The department is currently examining ways to improve our programming and to tie more closely economic development programs to land management programs. In a previous committee appearance, we described the importance of a pilot project that we have to improve local land-use planning linked to the first nations community economic development vision. It's anticipated that with such plans in place, subsequent land management activities will be much more aligned and better planned in order to reduce delays and provide a more formal process for community members to engage in making land use and economic development decisions pursuant to those plans.
The department works in partnership with key institutions, such as tribal councils, technical institutes, the Lands Advisory Board and FNLM Resource Centre, and the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association. I will just take an example. NALMA partners with the department not only on training under the RLEMP, but also on land designation processes, additions to reserve, and mentoring first nations land managers.
I'm sorry for taking so much time. It's just that this is such a complex area; but briefly, by way of conclusion, I'll just make a couple of points.
As I've described above, there's a broad range of programs and other supports, including funding and linkages to various institutions, to develop further first nations' abilities to manage reserve lands. We've talked about land-use planning, as have my colleagues who appeared a moment before. Land-use planning on reserve is very different from the broad regional planning and the activities of the land boards in the north. However, local land-use planning is an issue relevant to many first nations south of 60 operating under the Indian Act or FNLM or full self-government, or even land claims.
In addition to our focus in the future on improving land-use planning, lands programming will be oriented towards practical land management functions that first nations need to lead. Over time we hope to place less emphasis on building a capacity within first nations to administer Indian Act types of transactions, because we know that many first nations want to move to other legislation like FNLM. What's important is to build the capacity for leasing and negotiating, and a capacity for lands officers who are strong on economic development, for example.
With that, we'd be pleased to respond to any questions.