Indian Act amended - Bands to levy taxes

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A weakness in the Indian Act that has allowed provincial governments to levy taxes on Indian lands will be eliminated, pledged Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight during the first day of a Vancouver conference on tax and economic development.

Speaking before about 300 people, McKnight said a new bill to amend the Indian Act is currently being formulated that will allow Indian bands to levy their own taxes on non-Indian residents on conditionally surrendered lands. The amendment comes after almost 20 years of lobbying by the Kamloops Indian band which established an industrial park on part of its reserve in the 1960s. The band found itself paying for services to the park without the ability to levy taxes, while the B.C. government was able to collect an estimated $6 million in property taxes on those lands without supplying any services.

During his speech, McKnight admitted that the Indian Act did contain "ambiguous language in some places," and that conditionally surrendered reserve land is not "clearly defined in the act. Hence, the jurisdiction that bands can exercise over this land is uncertain."

The amendment will make it clear that conditionally surrendered land remains part of the reserve and the term "conditional surrender" will be dropped and be replaced with the term "designated land." The term surrender will only be used when a band wants to completely remove a parcel of land from its reserve, said McKnight.

The amendment will also remove the provision that bands must be in an "advanced state" before they can exercise their money by-law powers said McKnight.

"Besides the fact that there is no definition for "advanced state," the requirement is objectionable to bands and inconsistent with the overall progress being made toward self-government."

The minister will also form an Indian taxation advisory board to assist bands and the department in the formulation of effective and "professional" taxation bylaws.

The board will include Indian members and will also consider the impact "on future taxpayers and surrounding jurisdictions," said McKnight.

In a speech following McKnight, Kamloops chief Clarence (Manny) Jules thanked the minister and the bands who had supported his band's endeavour to amend the act.

"This is a very important day for us and for bands right across the country," he said.

However, other delegates hesitated to either condemn or applaud the new amendment, which was quickly dubbed the "Kamloops amendment."

IN an interview after the speech, Indian Association president Gregg Smith said he was "pleased" with the proposed amendment but would not comment further until the actual legislation has been written. "I would have to see the exact wording," said Smith. "But it does appear to be a step in the right direction."

Blackfoot band administrator, Andy Bear Robe said he was also optimistic about the proposed amendment as his own band also "conditionally surrendered" land for the Siksika holiday resort. "We are all going to have to study this new amendment," he added.