First Nations Land Management Act
{{Italic title}}
{{Short description|Canadian federal legislation}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox legislation
| legislature = Parliament of Canada
| long_title = An Act providing for the ratification and the bringing into effect of the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management
| citation = S.C. 1999, c. 24
| date_assented = 1999-06-17
| date_repealed = 2022-12-15
| repealed_by = Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022 (SC 2022, c 19)
| related_legislation = Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management Act
| status = repealed
}}
The First Nations Land Management Act ({{Langx|fr|Loi sur la gestion des terres des premières nations}}) is an act of the Parliament of Canada enacted to secure control by First Nations over First Nations lands.{{Cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Laura |last2=White |first2=Jerry P. |date=2012 |title=Developing Oil and Gas Resources On or Near Indigenous Lands in Canada: An Overview of Laws, Treaties, Regulations and Agreements |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/48766863 |journal=International Indigenous Policy Journal |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.18584/iipj.2012.3.2.5 |jstor=48766863 |issn=1916-5781}}
Provisions
The act allowed First Nations to opt out of 32 sections of the Indian Act, which relate to land management, and develop their own policies and legislation for reserves in a land code.{{Cite news |date=2018-10-29 |title=First Nations say land title gives rights to cannabis use and sales |url=https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/first-nations-say-land-title-gives-rights-to-cannabis-use-and-sales/275580 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122132031/https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/first-nations-say-land-title-gives-rights-to-cannabis-use-and-sales/275580 |archive-date=2021-01-22 |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=Canadian Lawyer Magazine}} To join the FNLM system a First Nation was required to pass a resolution to that effect, and drafts its land code, which must be ratified under its membership.{{Cite news |last=Beazley |first=Doug |date=2017-12-18 |title=Decolonizing the Indian Act |url=https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/in-depth/2017/decolonizing-the-indian-act |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804052329/https://www.nationalmagazine.ca/en-ca/articles/law/in-depth/2017/decolonizing-the-indian-act |archive-date=2024-08-04 |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=National Magazine |publisher=Canadian Bar Association}}
The RCMP did not necessarily uphold the laws passed by First Nations under the Act.{{Cite news |date=2018-10-10 |title=K'ómoks First Nation wins precedent-setting case regarding land management |url=https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/kmoks-first-nation-wins-precedent-setting-case-regarding-land-management-1587075 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250426134622/https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/kmoks-first-nation-wins-precedent-setting-case-regarding-land-management-1587075 |archive-date=2025-04-26 |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=Comox Valley Record}}
Reception
The act has been praised in Policy Options as an "unsung success".{{Cite news |last=Boutilier |first=Sasha |date=2016-08-18 |title=An unsung success: The First Nations Land Management Act |url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2016/an-unsung-success-the-first-nations-land-management-act/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126064453/https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2016/an-unsung-success-the-first-nations-land-management-act/ |archive-date=2021-01-26 |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=Policy Options}}