Songhees First Nation Lands Management

The First Nations Land Management Act was assented on June 17, 1999, with an initial fourteen First Nations across Canada. An additional 30 were offered an opportunity to enter the Land Management Initiative, commencing April 1, 2002, and Tsawout First Nation is one of the First Nations. The Land Management Act with the Framework Agreements provides the fourty-four First Nations with the option to manage their Reserve Lands. The option to regain control over the reserve lands can only be taken with the consent of our community.

A First Nations will exercise its land management option by:

* Creating its own Land Code
* Implementing a Community Ratifications Process, and
* Entering into an Individual Transfer Agreement with Canada.

Lands Management Department



What you need to know. Minutes to Meetings View PDF Files, Photos and Land Codes Need AdobeAcrobat to read a PDF file? Download here.		The First Nations Land Management Act was assented on June 17, 1999, with an initial fourteen First Nations across Canada. An additional 30 were offered an opportunity to enter the Land Management Initiative, commencing April 1, 2002, and Tsawout First Nation is one of the First Nations. The Land Management Act with the Framework Agreements provides the fourty-four First Nations with the option to manage their Reserve Lands. The option to regain control over the reserve lands can only be taken with the consent of our community. A First Nations will exercise its land management option by: * Creating its own Land Code * Implementing a Community Ratifications Process, and * Entering into an Individual Transfer Agreement with Canada.
		The Framework Agreement is a First Nation driven self-government initiative. Each First Nation develops and ratifies their own land code that reflects their own laws, priorities, traditions, and way of doing things. The involvement is community based. At a minimum, all voting members both on and off-reserve are involved in the land code development and ratification. Nothing is finalized without community ratification. The special fiduciary relationship to the Crown is retained, except to the extent that land management comes under First Nation control. Title to First Nation reserve land is not affected by the Framework Agreement or the legislation. Constitutional protections are retained. First Nation land continues to be land reserved for Indians within the meaning of section 91(24) of the Constitution Act of 1867. Treaty and aboriginal rights are not affected. The Framework Agreement is not a Treaty. As a general rule, there is no expropriation by governments of reserve land. Canada is still responsible to correct past wrongs and omissions by Canada that occurred before the First Nation’s land code takes effect. There is continued protection of third party and individual land member’s interest on reserve lands. The Land Code does NOT: * grant taxation powers, * create "Fee Simple" land or any other type of alienable land interest, * affect Treaty or any other defined or undefined aboriginal rights, * affect additions to reserves, or * affect land claims.