A Path Forward? Community Perspectives on the First Nations Land Management Regime in the Context of Renewable Energy Planning

The First Nations Land Management Regime (“FNLMR”) allows communities to develop a Land Code establishing local law-making powers for a variety of land use planning and environmental matters. The FNLMR draws authority from the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management signed between the Federal Government and various First Nations. The Framework Agreement was ratified under the federal First Nations Land Management Act. This paper seeks to answer two questions: (1) What are the purposes of enacting an FNLMR Land Code from the First Nation perspective? and (2) Do the benefits of Land Codes to communities outweigh the negative impacts, with respect to self-government, economic development, and energy independence? Analysis will draw on a literature review and case studies of three communities who have an FNLMR Land Code and have used it for developing renewable energy projects. The literature reviewed regards the FNLMR and similar bilateral governance agreements from the perspectives of (1) Indigenous Legal Rights (2) Commercialism (3) Resurgentism and (4) Energy Planning. The case study included the participation of M’Chigeeng First Nation, T’Sou-ke First Nation and Henvey Inlet First Nation. All three provided interviews via a representative who was involved in the development of the Land Code and renewable energy project.
Results indicate that participant communities developed Land Codes for a variety of reasons, but, most significantly, to achieve stronger local governance and independence from the Federal Government. Communities were unanimous that the FNLMR helped to achieve that as well as other objectives. They were also unanimous that the positive implications of FNLMR vastly outweighed the negatives. This gives reason to conclude that the FNLMR can be an effective way of strengthening local governance on First Nations and filling regulatory gaps that exist on reserve.