Local governments have an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed revisions to the federal Policy on Additions to Reserves/New Reserves until September 30, 2013. UBCM is requesting a copy of any member feedback submitted to AANDC on the revised policy by September 13, 2013, so that a consolidated member response may be submitted prior to the feedback deadline.

The Additions to Reserve (ATR) policy sets out the conditions and issues to be addressed before land can become reserve. The policy was created to fill a legislative gap, as ATRs are not addressed in the Indian Act or other federal legislation.

The UBCM First Nations Relations Committee has been monitoring the ATR policy review since December 2010. The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples conducted a review of the policy, culminating in the November 2012 report, Additions to Reserve: Expediting the Process. The Government Response to this report indicated that it would take action on issues raised by the Standing Committee, committing to:

• Better support productive negotiations between First Nations and local governments and/or third parties through improved guidelines, tools and resources under the ATR policy and access to negotiating expertise through the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association;
• Identify and implement measures to mitigate predatory pricing on the sale of private land to First Nations, including an expanded ATR toolkit that outlines best ...
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  Tags: Additions to Reserve, National Aboriginal Land Managers Association, Policy on Additions to Reserves/New Reserves, Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples