Vol. 143, No. 21 — October 14, 2009

Registration

SOR/2009-282 October 1, 2009

FIRST NATIONS GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ACT

Order Amending Schedule 2 to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act (2009-2)

P.C. 2009-1633 October 1, 2009

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, pursuant to section 29 (see footnote a) of the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Order Amending Schedule 2 to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act (2009-2).

ORDER AMENDING SCHEDULE 2 TO THE FIRST NATIONS GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ACT (2009-2)

AMENDMENT

1. Schedule 2 to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act (see footnote 1) is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Column 1 Band	Column 2 Council of the Band	Column 3 Reserves	Column 4 Specified Province
Kahkewistahaw	Council of Kahkewistahaw	Each reserve of Kahkewistahaw that is not shared with another band	Saskatchewan
Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation	Council of the Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation	Reserves of the Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation	Saskatchewan
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation	Council of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation	Reserves of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation	Saskatchewan
White Bear	Council of White Bear	Each reserve of White Bear that is not shared with another band	Saskatchewan

COMING INTO FORCE

2. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issue and objectives

Four Indian Bands in Saskatchewan have asked to be listed in Schedule 2 to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act (the Act). The Province of Saskatchewan has also asked to be listed in Schedule 2 with each of the Bands. Schedule 2 may be amended by an Order in Council to list the Bands and the Province of Saskatchewan. This Order in Council will enable the Bands to exercise provincial-type tax powers on reserve, with the agreement of Saskatchewan.

Description and rationale

Amending Schedule 2 to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act in this fashion makes it possible for each of the listed Band councils to enact a law that imposes a direct tax like a particular provincial tax (e.g. the Saskatchewan liquor consumption tax). Listing the Bands and the Province of Saskatchewan in Schedule 2 is an enabling measure that makes it possible for the Bands to enact provincial-type taxes but does not obligate them to do so and does not obligate the Province of Saskatchewan or the Bands to enter into agreements concerning the administration of the Band taxes.

If the Bands and the Province of Saskatchewan proceed, each Band’s provincial-type tax would be implemented when the Province and the Band enter into a tax administration agreement under which the Province administers and enforces the Band’s tax and collects it for the Band. If the council of an Indian Band that is listed in Schedule 2 were to enact a law imposing a tax parallel to the Saskatchewan liquor consumption tax and enter into a tax agreement with the Province of Saskatchewan in respect of that law, then the Band would realize, in accordance with the provisions of the agreement, a stream of revenue that could be used for the Band’s purposes.

The attached Order amends Schedule 2 to the First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act by adding the names of the following four Indian Bands:

— Kahkewistahaw First Nation, which is situated near Regina, Saskatchewan;

— Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nation, which is situated near North Battleford, Saskatchewan;

— Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, which has more than 30 reserves located at various places in east central Saskatchewan; and

— White Bear First Nation, which is situated near Carlyle, Saskatchewan.

The Order also adds the name of the council of each Band, the description of each Band’s reserves in Saskatchewan where the Band’s provincial-type tax may apply and the name of the Province of Saskatchewan opposite the name of, and the other information about, each Band.

Consultation

The amendment is consistent with the wishes of the four Bands and the Province of Saskatchewan. Each of the Bands has requested that Schedule 2 be amended to include its name, the name of its council and the description of the lands where the Band’s provincial-type tax would apply. The Province of Saskatchewan supports this initiative and has also requested that Schedule 2 be amended so the listed Bands may exercise provincial-type tax powers on their reserves in Saskatchewan.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

No new enforcement or administrative obligations will be created for the Government of Canada as a result of this Order in Council. Each of the Bands and the Province of Saskatchewan will be responsible for implementing any resulting arrangements, including arrangements for the administration, enforcement and collection of any provincial-type tax of the Band.

Contact

Ken Medd
Aboriginal Tax Policy Section
140 O’Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G5
Telephone: 613-996-2192

Footnote a
S.C. 2006, c. 4, s. 96

Footnote b
S.C. 2003, c. 15, s. 67

Footnote 1
S.C. 2003, c. 15, s. 67

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML 1.0 Strict).