Tax amendment being drafted by B.C. band

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An amendment to the Indian Act to alter Indian taxation powers on surrendered lands may be introduced into the House of Commons after Christmas.

The amendment is being drafted by the Kamloops Indian band after many years of unsuccessful bids to gain band jurisdiction over surrendered lands.

The chief, of the Kamloops band located in the south central interior of British Columbia was a guest speaker on the first day of a two-day conference on Indian taxation and economic development issues held Dec. 2 and 3.

Chief Many Jules says he will take a political route after failing to have the band's position recognized through negotiations with the provincial government and a court case.

"We decided to use a political approach to try to clarify the ambiguities in the Indian Act and make it clear once and for all that bands, when they surrender land, do in fact retain jurisdiction over those lands . . . that it is just the same as other lands," he said.

"It (surrendered land) is still ours and band council should have clear jurisdiction and authority over those properties," he said.

The proposed amendment would be made under Section 83 of the Indian Act. As the act stands, the province can tax surrendered land because it is distinct from reserve land.

The Kamloops chief said says the amendment which is currently in the draft stage will allow the band clear taxation authority on surrendered lands.

The Kamloops band is interested in gaining authority over a 180 hectare industrial park situated on reserve.

The proposed amendment would delete the phrase "conditionally surrendered land" and replace it with the words "designated land" which would remain a part of the reserve.

In addition the proposed amendment would also delete the notion of "advanced stage of development".

Under the Indian Act bands who have reached an "advanced stage of development" may enact tax bylaws.

"Who determines who is an advanced band? It is my feeling that when a band decides on its own to enact a taxation bylaw that there shouldn't be anything in the Indian Act preventing that. And so one of the amendments is that the advanced status should be removed from the Indian Act," said Jules.

However he stressed that the intention of the proposed amendments is not to tax the band membership.

"There's been a lot of concern right across the country that the amendment is aimed at trying to encourage band councils to tax Indian people residing on reserves. The position was made very clear that what we were endeavouring to do was to begin to collect eh tax off of non-Indian use of reserve land . . . but under no circumstances was I to tax my own people," said the chief.

The Kamloops chief says he is aware that making changes to the Indian Act has not been a popular move with Indian people across Canada.

But in 1985 he wrote a letter to all Indian bands in the country and received support from every region including Alberta to amend the Indian Act. The chief has also travelled across Canada to explain the proposed changes to bands.

Chief Jules believes the amendment will benefit Indian bands right across the country and it will benefit not only urban band such as the Kamloops band but rural bands as well.

"There isn't too many bands that I've visited that don't have a set of railway tracks going through them or highways or hydro lines. And those are potential sources of revenue . . . I feel we can occupy that tax area," he said.

Jules said he hoped the amendment would be introduced into the House of Commons before the new year but, "because of a snag in the (wording) of the draft it may be delayed until after Christmas."