First, I'll just stress that what I've been talking about is mainly first nations on and off reserves. That's mainly what I do. I'll let Mr. Bailey deal with any types of Métis issues.
Regarding land codes, for Fisher River First Nation, like it is with a lot of first nations that wish to enter into the First Nation Land Management Act, a lot of the challenges that come with that deal with community buy-in. It's about explaining to the community what's going on. What the First Nation Land Management Act does, which allows a community to adopt a land code, is that it allows a first nation to voluntarily opt out of 44 land management provisions of the Indian Act so that, basically, the first nation can manage its land, its management decisions and its environmental decisions.
One thing that the first nation had to work on in Fisher River and other places is convincing the membership that the first nation is still a reserve. The land can't be sold or transferred. You can't buy land; the Crown still owns it.
The other thing is that it doesn't affect treaty rights. This in no way infringes on treaty rights. It's a long process; it takes a couple of years. There's a ratification vote that has to be required on the first nation.
In Fisher River, it happened in 2020. We all know what happened around 2020-21 with COVID. The issue there was about mail-in ballots, making sure that people were able to vote. Finally, when they were able to do that, the first nation was able to ratify its own land code.
We do know that KPMG, which has done research on first nations that have opted into the First Nation Land Management Act regime, found that first nations that come under the First Nation Land Management Act and that have a land code tend to do a lot better in terms of employment and economic opportunity. The indicators show they do well over time.