Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (S.C. 1998, c. 25)

Application and Consultation

Marginal note:Application

6 Except where otherwise provided, this Act applies in the Mackenzie Valley.

Marginal note:Application to Her Majesty

7 This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province, except that Her Majesty in right of Canada is not required to pay any fee prescribed by regulations made under paragraph 90.3(1)(k) or subparagraph 90.3(2)(a)(i).

Marginal note:Waters vested in Her Majesty

7.1 Subject to any rights, powers or privileges granted or preserved under the Dominion Water Power Act, the property in and the right to the use and flow of all waters are vested in Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Marginal note:Other Acts, etc., to be complied with

7.2 For greater certainty, nothing in this Act, the regulations or a licence or permit, as defined in section 51, authorizes a person to contravene or fail to comply with any other Act or any regulation or order made under it, except as provided in that other Act, regulation or order.

Marginal note:Consultation

• 8 (1) The federal Minister shall consult the first nations, the Tlicho Government and the Déline Got’ine Government with respect to the amendment of this Act.

• Marginal note:Review of Act

  (2) The federal Minister shall, in the course of any negotiations with a first nation relating to self-government, review the pertinent provisions of this Act in consultation with that first nation.

PART 1General Provisions Respecting Boards

Establishment and Organization

Definition of board

9 In this Part, board means any board established by this Act.

Marginal note:Purpose

9.1 The purpose of the establishment of boards by this Act is to enable residents of the Mackenzie Valley to participate in the management of its resources for the benefit of the residents and of other Canadians.

Marginal note:Capacity

10 A board has, for the purposes of its functions, the capacity, rights, powers and privileges of a natural person.

Marginal note:Appointment of members by federal Minister

• 11 (1) The members of a board — other than the chairperson, any members appointed pursuant to a determination under section 15 and any members appointed by the Tlicho Government under subsection 57.1(2) or in accordance with an agreement referred to in that subsection — shall be appointed by the federal Minister in accordance with Parts 2 to 5.

• Marginal note:Alternate members

  (2) Except in the case of the Wekeezhii Land and Water Board, the federal Minister may appoint

  • (a) alternate members selected from persons nominated for that purpose by a first nation, or selected following consultation with first nations, to act in the event of the absence or incapacity of members appointed on such nomination or following such consultation, respectively; and

  • (b) alternate members agreed to by the territorial Minister to act in the event of the absence or incapacity of members other than members referred to in paragraph (a).

Marginal note:Chairperson

• 12 (1) Except in the case of the Wekeezhii Land and Water Board, the chairperson of a board shall be appointed by the federal Minister from persons nominated by a majority of the members.

• Marginal note:Appointment by federal Minister

  (2) Except in the case of the Wekeezhii Land and Water Board, if a majority of the members does not nominate a person acceptable to the federal Minister within a reasonable time, the Minister may appoint any person as chairperson of the board.

• Marginal note:Wekeezhii Land and Water Board

  (2.1) The chairperson of the Wekeezhii Land and Water Board shall be appointed jointly by the federal Minister and the Tlicho Government on the nomination of the members of the Board other than the chairperson.

• Marginal note:Absence or incapacity of chairperson

  (3) The board may designate a member to act as its chairperson during the absence or incapacity of the chairperson or a vacancy in the office of chairperson, and that person while so acting may exercise the powers and shall perform the duties of the chairperson.

Marginal note:Duties of chairperson

13 The chairperson of a board is its chief executive officer and has the powers and duties prescribed by the by-laws of the board.

Marginal note:Term of office

• 14 (1) A member of a board holds office for a term of three years.

• Marginal note:Reappointment

  (2) A member may be reappointed in the same or another capacity.

• Marginal note:Removal by federal Minister after consultation

  (3) A member who has been appointed by the federal Minister may not be removed from office except after consultation by the federal Minister with the board and, where applicable, with the territorial Minister, the first nation or the Tlicho Government that nominated the member.

• Marginal note:Removal by Tlicho Government after consultation

  (4) A member of the Wekeezhii Land and Water Board who has been appointed by the Tlicho Government may not be removed from office except after consultation by the Tlicho Government with the Board and the federal Minister.

Marginal note:Implementation of right of representation of other Aboriginal peoples

15 Despite any provision of this Act respecting members of a board, if an Aboriginal people has a right under a land claim agreement to representation on that board in relation to a decision of the board that might affect an area used by that Aboriginal people that is outside the board’s area of jurisdiction, the board shall, in accordance with that land claim agreement, determine how to implement that right, so long as the number of members who are either nominated by a first nation, nominated or appointed by the Tlicho Government or appointed following consultation by the federal Minister with the first nations of the regions of the Mackenzie Valley outside the settlement areas and Wekeezhii, as the case may be, and who are temporarily appointed to implement that right remains equal to the number of other members not including the chairperson.

Marginal note:Conflict of interest

• 16 (1) A member of a board may not act in relation to an application to the board or participate in a decision of the board that would place the member in a material conflict of interest.

• Marginal note:Status or entitlements under agreement

  (2) A member of a board is not placed in a material conflict of interest merely because of any status or entitlement conferred on the member under the Gwich’in Agreement, the Sahtu Agreement, the Tlicho Agreement or any other agreement between a first nation and Her Majesty in right of Canada for the settlement of a claim to lands or under the Déline Agreement.

Marginal note:Remuneration

• 17 (1) Members of a board, including any members appointed in accordance with a determination under section 15, shall be paid the fees or other remuneration that the federal Minister may fix.

• Marginal note:Expenses

  (2) Such members shall be paid such travel and living expenses, incurred by them while absent from their ordinary place of residence in the course of performing their duties, as are consistent with directives of the Treasury Board.

Marginal note:Staff

• 18 (1) A board may employ such persons and engage the services of such agents, advisers and experts as are necessary for the proper conduct of its business and may fix the conditions of their employment or engagement and pay their remuneration.

• Marginal note:Sharing of staff and facilities

  (2) The boards may share staff and facilities with one another for the effective and efficient conduct of their affairs.

Marginal note:Benefits

19 The members of a board and its employees are deemed to be employees for the purposes of the Government Employees Compensation Act and to be employed in the federal public administration for the purposes of any regulations made pursuant to section 9 of the Aeronautics Act.

Marginal note:Protection from personal liability

20 The members and employees of a board are not liable for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise or performance or purported exercise or performance of any powers, duties or functions under this Act.

General Powers

Marginal note:Decision by majority

• 21 (1) A decision of a majority of the members of a board present at a meeting is a decision of the board.

• Marginal note:Participation by telephone

  (2) Subject to the by-laws of a board, any member may participate in a meeting by means of telephone or other communications facilities that are likely to enable all persons participating in the meeting to hear each other, and a member so participating is deemed to be present at the meeting.

Marginal note:Government information

22 Subject to any other federal or territorial law and to any Tlicho law or Déline law, a board may obtain from any department or agency of the federal or territorial government, the Tlicho Government or the Déline Got’ine Government any information in the possession of the department, agency, Tlicho Government or Déline Got’ine Government that the board requires for the performance of its functions.

Marginal note:Enforcement of orders

23 A decision or order of a board may be made an order of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories by the filing of a certified copy of it with the registrar of the Court, and a decision or order so filed is enforceable in the same manner as an order of that Court.

Marginal note:Hearings

24 In addition to hearings that a board is authorized or required to hold under this Act, a board may conduct any hearings that it considers to be desirable for the purpose of carrying out any of its functions.

Marginal note:Coordination

24.1 A board shall coordinate its activities, including hearings, with the activities of

• (a) other boards;

• (b) departments and agencies of the federal government that have responsibility for the administration, management and control of parks to which the Canada National Parks Act applies or lands acquired pursuant to the Historic Sites and Monuments Act;

• (c) committees established under any of the land claim agreements for the management of parks to which the Canada National Parks Act applies;

• (d) committees, or similar bodies, established for the management of protected areas as defined in any of the land claim agreements;

• (e) renewable resources boards established under any of the land claim agreements; and

• (f) land use planning bodies established for Wekeezhii or any part of Wekeezhii.

Marginal note:Judicial powers of a board

25 In proceedings before a board established under Part 3, 4 or 5, the board has the powers, rights and privileges of a superior court with respect to the attendance and examination of witnesses and the production and inspection of documents.

Financial Provisions

Marginal note:Annual budget

• 26 (1) A board shall in each year submit for the consideration of the federal Minister an operating budget for the following fiscal year.

• Marginal note:Accounts

  (2) A board shall maintain books of account and related records in accordance with accounting principles recommended by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada or its successor.

• Marginal note:Consolidated financial statements

  (3) A board shall annually prepare consolidated financial statements in accordance with the accounting principles referred to in subsection (2) and shall include in them such supporting information or statements as are required.

• Marginal note:Audit

  (4) The accounts, financial statements and financial transactions of a board may be audited by the Auditor General of Canada, who shall make a report of the audit to the board, which shall transmit the report to the federal Minister.

• Marginal note:Funding

  (5) The federal Minister may establish funding arrangements with each board specifying the manner in which funding will be made available pursuant to a budget approved by the federal Minister.

Marginal note:Payment of fees

27 Fees paid pursuant to any provision of this Act or the regulations shall be deposited to the credit of the Receiver General.

Reports

Marginal note:Annual report

• 28 (1) A board shall, within three months after the end of each fiscal year, submit to the federal Minister, in such form as the Minister may specify, a report on the activities of the board in that year including its financial statements for the year.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (2) The federal Minister shall make the annual report of a board available to the public.

By-laws, Rules and Other Instruments

Marginal note:By-laws

29 A board may make by-laws respecting the conduct and management of its internal administrative affairs, including by-laws providing for the maintenance at its office of the minutes of its meetings.