Engagement results released on proposed legislative amendments to First Nations land ownership – Prince George Daily News
March 22, 2024
VICTORIA – The Province of British Columbia is releasing a “what we heard” report detailing feedback from recent discussions about proposed legislative amendments that would provide administrative changes to the ways First Nations can own and register private land in B.C.
Currently, unless enabled by specific legislation, such as through treaties or other federal legislation, the majority of First Nations in B.C. are unable to acquire, hold and dispose of land interests, such as fee simple land and leaseholds, in their own names. To buy or hold land, most First Nations must undertake the additional administrative processes of setting up a corporation or use alternative arrangements, such as proxies, federal trusts, societies and individual members, to do something that other levels of government and British Columbians often take for granted.
First Nations in B.C. have long called to all levels of government to remove this discriminatory barrier to land ownership and enable them to directly own land, rather than through proxies such as corporations, societies and individual members.
