Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 (S.C. 2015, c. 36)
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Assented to 2015-06-23
PART 3VARIOUS MEASURES
Division 162005, c. 9; 2012, c. 19, s. 658First Nations Fiscal Management Act
Amendments to the Act
186. (1) Subsection 14(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Local revenues
14. (1) Local revenues of a first nation shall be reported on and accounted for separately from other moneys of the first nation in compliance with the standards established under paragraph 55(1)(d).
Marginal note:Audited reports
(1.1) For the purposes of subsection (1), the first nation shall prepare a financial report on its local revenues that shall be audited at least once each year. However, if it is authorised by a standard established under paragraph 55(1)(d), the first nation may instead report on its local revenues in its audited annual financial statements as a distinct segment of the activities that appear in the statements.
(2) The portion of subsection 14(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Access to report
(2) The audited financial report or the audited annual financial statements, as the case may be, shall be made available to
187. Section 15 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Non-application of certain provisions
15. Paragraphs 83(1)(a) and (b) to (g) and section 84 of the Indian Act do not apply to a first nation. In addition, any regulations made under paragraph 73(1)(m) of that Act do not apply to a first nation in respect of the borrowing of money under a law made under paragraph 5(1)(d).
188. Paragraph 32(1)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) the first nation has obtained and forwarded to the Commission a certificate in respect of their financial performance, issued by the First Nations Financial Management Board under subsection 50(3); and
189. (1) Subsection 35(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after that paragraph:
(c.1) notices relating to local revenue laws, including any minimum periods applicable to the notices;
(2) Subsection 35(1) of the Act is amended by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (d) and by adding the following after that paragraph:
(e) the dates on or before which laws must be made by a council of a first nation under section 10.
190. (1) The portion of paragraph 36(1)(b) of the Act before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:
(b) establishing procedures to be followed for the purposes of section 31 or 33, including procedures
(2) Paragraph 36(3)(d) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(d) delegate any of the powers of the Commission under section 31 or 33 to a panel consisting of one or more commissioners.
(3) Section 36 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):
Marginal note:Designation of panels by Chief Commissioner
(3.1) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(b) may authorize or require the Chief Commissioner to designate the members of a panel for the purposes of the delegation of powers referred to in paragraph (3)(d).
191. (1) Paragraph 50(2)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) an opinion as to whether the first nation was in compliance with the standards or as to which aspects of the standards were not complied with by the first nation.
(2) Subsections 50(3) and (4) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Issuance of certificate
(3) If after completing a review under subsection (1) the Board is of the opinion that the first nation was in compliance, in all material respects, with the standards, it shall issue to the first nation a certificate to that effect.
Marginal note:Revocation of certificate
(4) The Board may, on giving notice to a council, revoke a certificate issued under subsection (3) if, on the basis of financial or other information available to the Board, it is of the opinion that
(a) the basis on which the certificate was issued has materially changed;
(b) the first nation provided information that is incomplete or incorrect or made misrepresentations to the Board; or
(c) the first nation is no longer in compliance, in all material respects, with the standards.
192. (1) Paragraph 53(2)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) subject to subsection (3), act in the place of the council of the first nation to make laws under paragraphs 5(1)(a) to (f) and subsection 9(1);
(2) Subsection 53(2) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(b.1) act in the place of the council of the first nation to fulfil any of the powers and obligations of the council under any property taxation law and under this Act;
(3) Subsection 53(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Delegation — consent of council required
(3) The Board shall not make a law under paragraph 5(1)(f) or 9(1)(b) that delegates a power to a person or body to whom a power was not delegated at the time the Board assumed third-party management of the local revenues of a first nation, unless the council of the first nation gives its consent.
193. The definition “property tax revenues” in section 57 of the Act is replaced by the following:
“property tax revenues”
« recettes fiscales foncières »
“property tax revenues” means moneys raised under laws made under paragraphs 5(1)(a) and (a.1) and payments made to a first nation in lieu of a tax imposed by a law made under paragraph 5(1)(a).
194. Subsection 76(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Criteria
(2) The Authority shall accept a first nation as a borrowing member only if the First Nations Financial Management Board has issued to the first nation a certificate in respect of their financial performance under subsection 50(3) and has not subsequently revoked it.
195. Section 77 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Ceasing to be borrowing member
77. (1) A first nation that has obtained financing secured by property tax revenues may cease to be a borrowing member only with the consent of all other borrowing members that have obtained financing secured by such revenues.
Marginal note:Ceasing to be borrowing member
(2) A first nation that has obtained financing secured by other revenues may cease to be a borrowing member only with the consent of all other borrowing members that have obtained financing secured by such other revenues.
196. Subsection 78(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Priority
78. (1) If a first nation is insolvent, the Authority has priority over all other creditors of the first nation for any moneys that are authorized to be paid to the Authority under a law made under paragraph 5(1)(b) or (d), under an agreement governing a secured revenues trust account or under the Act, but the priority is only in respect of any debt that arises on or after the date on which the first nation receives the initial disbursement of the first loan that it obtained from the Authority.
197. Sections 79 and 80 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Limitations — infrastructure loans
79. The Authority shall not make a long-term loan to a borrowing member for the purpose of financing capital infrastructure for the provision of local services on reserve lands unless the First Nations Tax Commission has approved a law made by the borrowing member under paragraph 5(1)(d).
Marginal note:Restriction
80. A borrowing member that has obtained a long-term loan secured by property tax revenues from the Authority shall not subsequently obtain a long-term loan secured by property tax revenues from any other person.
198. Subsection 82(3) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(b.1) securities of the Authority or of a municipal finance authority established by a province, if the day on which they mature is not later than the day on which the security for which the sinking fund is established matures;
199. Section 84 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Debt reserve fund
84. (1) The Authority shall establish, to make payments or sinking fund contributions for which insufficient moneys are available from borrowing members,
(a) a debt reserve fund solely for financing secured by property tax revenues; and
(b) a debt reserve fund solely for financing secured by other revenues.
Marginal note:Provisioning of fund
(2) Subject to a regulation that fixes different percentages for the purposes of this subsection, the Authority shall withhold 5% of the amount of any long-term loan to a borrowing member that is secured by property tax revenues and of any loan to a borrowing member that is secured by other revenues, regardless of the length of its term, and deposit that amount in the corresponding debt reserve fund.
Marginal note:Percentage withheld may be reduced by board
(2.1) However, the board of directors may, by resolution, reduce the percentage to be withheld from a loan under subsection (2) to a percentage that is not less than 1%, if the board of directors is satisfied that doing so would not have a negative impact on the Authority’s credit rating and the regulations do not fix a different percentage.
Marginal note:Separate account
(3) A separate account shall be kept for each security issued and for each borrowing member contributing to a debt reserve fund.
Marginal note:Investments
(4) The funds of a debt reserve fund may be invested only in securities, investments or deposits referred to in paragraph 82(3)(a), (c) or (d) that mature or are callable within five years, 25% of which must be callable within 90 days.
Marginal note:Liability for shortfall
(5) If payments from a debt reserve fund reduce its balance
(a) by less than 50% of the total amount contributed by borrowing members who have obtained financing for which that debt reserve fund was established, the Authority may, in accordance with the regulations, require those borrowing members to pay amounts sufficient to replenish the debt reserve fund; and
(b) by 50% or more of the total amount contributed by borrowing members who have obtained financing for which that debt reserve fund was established,
(i) the Authority shall, in accordance with the regulations, require those borrowing members to pay without delay amounts sufficient to replenish the debt reserve fund, and
(ii) in the case of a debt reserve fund described in paragraph (1)(a), those borrowing members shall recover those amounts under their property taxation laws.
Marginal note:Repayment
(6) Money contributed by a borrowing member to a debt reserve fund, and any investment income received on it, that has not already been repaid to the borrowing member by the Authority shall be repaid when all obligations in respect of the security in respect of which the money was contributed have been satisfied.
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