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Urban Reserves

Urban Reserve Lands in Canada

The Saskatoon experience

The first urban reserve in Canada, designed specifically for urban economic development, was created in Saskatoon in 1988 by the Muskeg Lake First Nation. This new reserve came about as a result of the Federal Additions to Reserve Policy. It was unique because of a series of agreements between the City and the First Nation regarding compatible land use, services, and tax loss compensation.

New reserve lands under The Indian Act continue to be created both within and adjacent to Saskatoon, as a result of the 1992 Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement land claims agreement. As a result, much of my work as City Solicitor has been in the area of aboriginal/urban jurisdiction and the negotiation of First Nation-Municipal agreements.

Publications

In 1995 I wrote a national study published by the Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and Regional Research (ICURR) of Toronto, Ontario entitled 'The Impact of Aboriginal Land Claims and Self-Government on Canadian Municipalities'.

Included were three case studies from across Canada, a description of the Federal Additions to Reserve Policy, a comparison of the Saskatchewan and Yukon Land Claims Agreements, a survey of municipalities across Canada which have agreements with First Nations, and a summary of the key municipal issues regarding land claims.

An excerpt from this study is in the Resources section below.

Resources

Materials about urban reserves which can be downloaded from this site:

  • The Impact of Aboriginal Land Claims and Self-Government on Canadian Municipalities.

    This book was published by ICURR and the research was funded by them.

  • Common Questions About Urban Development Centres in Saskatchewan

    This article was written in 2006 in response to ongoing inquires about Saskatoon's experience. It is not intended as legal advice but rather as general information on urban reserves.

  • Urban Neighbours - Land Entitlement and Urban Reserves

    This is the text of a speech which was presented at a Statistics Canada, Future Focus Conference in 1994 to people who were new to urban reserves.

  • Economic Development on Aboriginal Lands and Land Use Compatibility.

    This article, which focuses on the issue of land use, was first published by the International Municipal Lawyers Association of Washington DC and is reproduced here with their permission.


 
Updated: 25-Jul-2007 13:48:11 CSTHomeContact