Canada's Collaborative Self-Government Fiscal Policyfor Self-Governing Indigenous Governments

Canada's Collaborative Self-Government Fiscal Policy establishes a renewed and transparent funding model to better support the implementation of self-government agreements and treaties with self-government arrangements. Successful implementation of these agreements is key to advancing reconciliation in Canada and is fundamental for self-determination and improving the quality of life for Indigenous peoples and communities.

Indigenous self-government

Canada recognizes that Indigenous peoples have an inherent right of self-government guaranteed in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

While self-government agreements vary from group to group depending on their unique needs and vision of self-determination, typically self-governing Indigenous governments can have decision and law-making authority in areas such as: governance, social and economic development, education, health, culture and language and land and resources.

Co-developing a new fiscal policy

Co-developed in collaboration with self-governing Indigenous governments, the new fiscal policy establishes a clear and transparent framework that will guide federal officials concluding fiscal agreement renewals with self-governing Indigenous governments.

This new approach is based on the expenditure need of self-governing Indigenous governments and establishes approaches that can be tailored to address specific circumstances of each government (such as responsibilities, population, location) and the nature of their self-government arrangements.

The fiscal policy is intended to provide sufficient fiscal resources to Indigenous governments to fulfill their responsibilities and to provide public services that are reasonably comparable to those available to other Canadians. It also supports measures to help close the social well-being gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Work to address all aspects of funding is ongoing but Canada confirmed its support to the first of the new costing approaches that support the policy through Budget 2019.

The goal of the new policy is to strengthen the government-to-government partnership and better support self-government arrangements by providing sufficient, predictable and sustained funding so self-governing Indigenous governments have the means and fiscal capacity to govern effectively.

Renewed Fiscal Transfer Agreements

Currently there are 25 self-governing Indigenous governments that receive fiscal transfers through agreements with the Government of Canada. With this fiscal support, self-governing Indigenous governments fulfil the responsibilities and obligations set out in their modern treaty or self-government agreement. These fiscal agreements are renewed on a periodic basis and help implement the fiscal relationship between Canada and self-governing Indigenous governments.

As of August 26, 2019 the following self-governing Indigenous governments have signed renewed fiscal transfer agreements:

• Nisga'a Lisims Government
• Tłı̨chǫ Government
• Huu-ay-aht First Nations
• Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Chek'tles7et'h' First Nations
  Toquaht Nation
• Uchucklesaht Tribe
• Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government
• Deline Got'ine Government
• shíshálh Nation
• Westbank First Nation
• Tla'amin Nation
• Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
• Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Government
• First Nation of Na-cho Nyak Dun
• Vuntut Gwitchin Government
• Selkirk First Nation
•  Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation
• Ta'an Kwäch'än Counci

Canada will continue to negotiate with the other self-governing Indigenous governments to seek renewed fiscal transfer agreements.