The Williams Lake Indian Band is one of eight First Nations communities that will soon begin a process to opt out of the 34 land-related sections of the Indian Act and assume greater control of their reserve land and resources.
Last week the federal government announced that 18 First Nations groups from across Canada, including eight from B.C., would make the move and assume more land and resources control through the First Nations Lands Management Initiative (FNLMI).
"Williams Lake Indian Band is immensely excited about the prospect of being added to the First Nations Lands Management Initiative,” says Williams Lake Indian Band Chief Ann Louie. “We are ready for greater autonomy and assuming control over the management of our lands, resources and environment is a critical step forward. Eighty First Nations were on the waiting list for the First Nations Land Management Initiative, and to be amongst the 18 selected says a lot about the capacity and potential of our nation. We are certain that participating in the initiative will increase efficiency, inspire investor confidence, and open doors to greater economic opportunity for our people."
A news release from the band says that under the FNLMI, all administration of land is transferred to the First Nation, including the authority to enact laws with respect to land, the environment and resources (except oil and gas, uranium and radioactive minerals, fisheries, endangered species and migratory birds).
"I would like to congratulate these eight First Nations from British Columbia on being selected to join the First Nations Land Management Regime," says James Moore, MP for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam and minister of Canadian heritage and official languages, on behalf of the John Duncan, minister of aboriginal affairs and northern development. "Assuming greater control over the management of their reserve lands, environment and resources will enable each of these First Nations to seize new economic development opportunities."
“This is a major stride forward for Williams Lake Indian Band, and for the Cariboo generally,” adds Kirk Dressler, WLIB economic development officer. “WLIB has been aggressively pursuing economic opportunities, and the form of self-governance offered under the First Nations Land Management Initiative will make it far easier to do business. Other First Nations like Westbank and Tsleil-Waututh Nation (Burrard Indian Band) have used lands management tools as a cornerstone of economic development, and their success has contributed to the prosperity of their respective regions.”
A 2009 KPMG study shows that First Nations with direct control over their reserve lands and resources under the First Nations Land Management Initiative are making decisions at the speed of business and that economic development is much greater in comparison to those whose lands which are administered by the government under the Indian Act, the release says.
Many of the operational FNLMI First Nations reported a 40 per cent increase in new business overall by band members and a 45 per cent increase into different types of businesses, including supplier and spin-off businesses. These First Nations attracted approximately $53 million in internal investment and close to $100 million in external investment.