Development of new national standard for Indian Land Registries

Work Beginning on New National Standard of Canada for Indian Land Registry Operations

Gatineau, Quebec, February, 2017—Public Services and Procurement Canada's Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) announces today the beginning of work on a new National Standard of Canada for the Indian Land Registry System. This work is being sponsored by Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

Land registration systems provide information to the public on what interests may exist related to a particular parcel of land such as transfers of ownership in land, mortgages or other claims against interests in land.

The new standard will help modernize the existing registration system for on reserve lands in Canada, the Indian Lands Registry System, to ensure greater uniformity, reliability and predictability in the registration of interests in lands on reserve. The new standard may cover aspects such as the types of instruments that may be registered, the format of such documents, definitions and legal descriptions of interests in real property, required supporting documentation, and registration processes.

The reserve land base in Canada is increasing, and over 600 First Nations with over 3.5 million hectares of land are currently being served by the Indian Land Registry System. INAC has already developed an Indian Lands Registration Manual to serve as a tool to inform registration processes and administrative procedures for this system. The new standard will complement this manual, while also being entirely voluntary. If adopted, it should not only improve registry systems related to land on reserve, but it will also help to ensure uniformity in registration systems as these systems continue to evolve.

CGSB will administer the standards development process using a balanced technical committee to arrive at a voluntary consensus standard that can become a National Standard of Canada.

This advisory is to notify the public and key stakeholders the work is commencing. This announcement will also appear in the First Nations Gazette.

A draft of the standard will be made available for public review and comment in 2017 through the normal standards development process. All affected parties, especially First Nations and their organizations, will have the opportunity to be consulted on the draft standard. Consultations with Indigenous Peoples will be guided by the Government of Canada’s commitment to renew the relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples on a nation-to-nation relationship, based on recognition, rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.

For more information, please review the Frequently Asked Questions, or contact CGSB at ncr.cgsb-ongc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.