First Nation Organizations Launch Joint Land and Fiscal Agenda to Power Canada’s Economic Transformation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Westbank, B.C., – October 7, 2025.
The Lands Advisory Board (LAB) and the First Nations Tax Commission (FNTC) have united around a bold legislative agenda designed to unlock investment, accelerate land and housing development, and strengthen governance. By aligning land and fiscal authorities, this joint plan positions First Nations not only to fully participate in—but to help drive—the federal government’s economic transformation.
First Nations involved in both the Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management (Framework Agreement) and Fiscal Management Act (FMA) are demonstrating faster economic growth, stronger governance, and greater jurisdictional certainty than federally designed programs. Increasingly, First Nations are using these legislative tools to advance their priorities, realizing further benefits by exercising critical governmental authority to enhance the value of their lands, strengthen First Nation law and enforcement, increase land certainty, reduce land transaction costs, and generate new sources of revenue. By restoring competitive investment conditions weakened by the Indian Act, Framework Agreement and FMA Nations are closing public sector gaps, attracting investment, improving infrastructure and services, and generating sustainable revenues.
The LAB is advancing numerous proposals including the establishment of a First Nation land registry and surveying authority, streamline Additions-to-Reserve (ATR) through a dedicated approval institution, and explore a communal land title option to transfer lands directly from provincial to First Nation jurisdiction. The LAB also seeks to secure regulatory authority for faster ATR processes and expand the registry into treaty and title territories to strengthen land, resource, environmental, and cultural governance.
In parallel, FNTC is advancing proposals to expand FMA revenue tools for land acquisition, strengthen fiscal powers through new taxation options, and establish a First Nation Assessment Authority to modernize tax systems. Additional initiatives include creating a coordinated First Nation Resource Tax, supporting Framework Agreement amendments to enable environmental review and management systems, and working with other FMA institutions to develop self-insurance and infrastructure risk management frameworks.
Together, the LAB and FNTC are ensuring that land and fiscal authorities advance in tandem, maximizing opportunities for First Nations to contribute to stronger, more sustainable economic growth across Canada. …
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