Thank you Madam Chair.
There's been a bit of a gap since we last talked about this. I'm referring to clause 42, which states that under this act, except under section 19, the person in whose favour the order is made and so on must send, without delay, a copy of the order to the council of any first nation.
We've raised this issue in the past, and it has to do with first nations councils' abilities to have access to the resources not only to review orders but also to making the appropriate representations. As committee members will be well aware, in subclause 41(2), which we've already dealt with, the council can make representations with respect to the cultural, social, and legal context that pertains to the application, and to present it's views about whether or not the order should be made.
Once again we're dealing with the fact that it's fine to put in legislation that councils will have the opportunity, but the reality on the ground is that councils simply may not have access to the legal and financial resources.
The other issue is that some of these courts will not be close to reserves. The chiefs and councils and their legal representatives will need to travel to make those representations. Although the intent is appropriate in terms of their being able to make that representation, the reality on the ground of their being able to do that is a whole other question.
The other issue is that for first nations who already have the ability around law-making or who are already incorporating provincial law with regard to matrimonial real property, their experience in the courts has been less than successful. What they have discovered is that the courts often don't have understanding of the complexities of land codes on reserves. We've raised that issue in the past. The land codes on reserves are completely different from what we find off reserve, and it takes time and resources to educate the courts about what those land codes might be.
It's a complex matter, and the work simply hasn't been done to make sure that courts are up to speed on this matter.