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LTSAGovernmentFirst NationsFirst Nations and LTSAThe Land Title Act and First Nation Lands

The Land Title Act and First Nation Lands

Land Title Act Provisions for registering First Nation Lands and Interests

The following provides an overview of various provisions in the Land Title Act for registering First Nations lands and interests, other than the Schedule 1 Land Title Act provisions discussed below.

Registration of Treaty Lands: Schedule 1 to the Land Title Act

A Treaty First Nation has the option of registering portions of its Treaty Lands in the land title office.  When lands are chosen to be registered, Schedule 1 of the Land Title Act specifies the requirements for the registration and subsequent administration of the registered lands.

The Land Title Act has been modified to provide the framework for the registration of a First Nation’s title to their treaty lands. Schedule 1 of the Land Title Act sets out how the Act applies to treaty lands and is comprised of 6 parts. The following information provides an overview of certain provisions in each of the 6 parts of Schedule 1 that relate to the registration of a First Nation’s title to their treaty lands.

The following highlights some of the Schedule 1 provisions.

Part 1 – Treatment of Treaty Lands Highlights

  • The registrar makes the following endorsements on the applicable titles to treaty lands:
    • THIS LAND FORMS PART OF THE TREATY LANDS OF THE (QUOTE PERTINENT FIRST NATION)
    • THIS LAND IS SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS, PROVISOS, RESTRICTIONS, INCLUDING RESTRICTIONS ON ALIENATION, EXCEPTIONS AND RESERVATIONS, INCLUDING ROYALTIES, AS SET OUT IN (QUOTE THE RELEVANT SECTIONS AND STATUTORY AUTHORITY OF THE FIRST NATION)
    • SECTION 28 OF SCHEDULE 1 OF THE LAND TITLE ACT APPLIES AND A (QUOTE PERTINENT FIRST NATION) CERTIFICATE OF TRANSFER MUST ACCOMPANY ANY APPLICATION TO REGISTER TITLE—RESTRICTS DEALINGS
  • Treaty First Nation approving officers approve subdivisions of treaty lands
  • Road dedications vest in the treaty First Nation, except for provincial highways
  • Treaty First Nation may register a charge for debts owing to the First Nation
  • Treaty First Nation has the authority to hold a Statutory Right of Way and s. 219 Covenant

Part 2 – Registration of Title to Treaty Lands

  • For the first registration of treaty lands that had no previous indefeasible title, a plan prepared by a British Columbia land surveyor is required to sufficiently define the lands
  • The Treaty First Nation may make laws providing that its treaty lands are not to be registered in a name other than the Treaty First Nation without a certificate of transfer issued by the Treaty First Nation
    • Certificate from Treaty First Nation is required to accompany each transfer to ensure titles are registered in the name of a permitted transferee
  • Lands can be added to or deleted from treaty lands

Part 3 – Cancelling Registration of Treaty Lands

  • A Treaty First Nation can apply to cancel the registration of a title to their treaty lands
  • Once cancelled, the Land Title Act ceases to apply to the parcel
  • This only cancels registration; it does not remove the parcel from a First Nation’s Treaty Lands

Part 4 – Treaty First Nation Fee Simple Lands

  • Provides guidance for plans that accompany applications to register title in the name of the Treaty First Nation on the effective date of the Treaty First Nation’s final agreement, where the lands will not form any part of the treaty lands.

Part 5 – Fee Exemptions

  • First registrations are fee exempt
  • Post effective date, applications dealing with interests already registered in the land title office will be subject to standard LTSA fees

Part 6 – Tax Sales

  • The Treaty First Nation files a Tax Sale Notice in the Land title Office when treaty lands are sold for taxes. Relatedly, the Treaty First Nation files a Tax Sale Redemption Notice when the outstanding taxes have been redeemed and the Tax Sale Notice is to be cancelled from title.
  • Provides guidance on the registration of a title to treaty lands in the name of a purchaser under a tax sale.

Final Agreement Acts

In addition to Schedule 1 to the Land Title Act, the Final Agreement Act for each First Nation makes specific provisions for land titles. For example, these provisions are set out in schedules to the following Acts:

(1)   Chapter 3 of the Schedule to the Maa-nulth First Nations Final Agreement Act, S.B.C. 2007, c. 43

(2)   Chapter 4 of the Schedule to the Tla’amin Final Agreement Act, S.B.C. 2013, c. 2

(3)   Chapter 5 of the Schedule to the Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement Act, S.B.C. 2007, c. 39

Registration of Title to Treaty Lands on Effective Date

On the date the treaty is effective, a “package” of applications is submitted to LTSA for the registration of titles to the First Nation’s treaty lands. Prior to the submission of the package of applications on the effective date, LTSA collaborates with all of the parties (the Treaty First Nation, the Province, the federal government) associated with the package of applications to ensure the applications are registrable on the effective date.

Treaty First Nations Using Schedule 1

These Treaty First Nations use the provisions of Schedule 1 to register their lands:

Treaty lands registered in the land title system remain subject to a Treaty First Nation’s land laws.

The following are links to the Final Agreement Acts related to those treaties: