Mission
The mission of the First Nations Gazette is to
provide public notice of First Nation laws, by-laws, land codes, and
other First Nation legislation, and to otherwise serve as the
authoritative reference for First Nation law in Canada. It is committed
to maintaining the highest professional standards for legal
publication.
Objectives
The First Nations Gazette has five core objectives:
- to enhance the recognition of First Nation laws;
- to reinforce the laws through notice and publication;
- to improve the quality of the First Nation laws;
- to avoid the imposition of rigidity; and
- to keep First Nations' costs to a minimum
Origins of the First Nations Gazette
In 1985, the Indian Act was changed to exempt
First Nation by-laws from publication in the Canada Gazette. The
effect of the exemption from publication under the Statutory
Instruments Act was to place the burden of providing notice and
publication of by-laws with First Nations. The public exemption did not
alter the fact that First Nation bylaws can be struck down for lack of
due process in notification, passage or publication.
The First Nations Gazette was developed by the
Indian Taxation Advisory Board - the predecessor to the First
Nations Tax Commission - as a response to the concern surrounding the
publication requirements for enforceability of by-laws and rules under
the Indian Act and to the growing need to provide public notice
and transfer information regarding First Nation legislation as First
Nations increasingly exercise and expand their legislative jurisdiction.
In order to publish the First Nations Gazette, the Indian Taxation
Advisory Board entered into a partnership with the Native Law Centre of
the University of Saskatchewan.
The First Nations Gazette was officially launched
on June 21, 1997 (Aboriginal Day), and has since been publishing two
volumes a year, as well as occasional special editions, on a subscription
basis. It has been well received in the First Nation and legal circles,
and federal statutes have increasingly identified the First Nations
Gazette as the official vehicle for notification. Provincial and
federal governments publish their laws, regulations, and other notices
through their Gazettes. The First Nations Gazette provides a similar
service for First Nations.
The First Nations Tax Commission is mandated, pursuant to
s.34(2) of the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, to publish the
First Nations Gazette. The First Nations Tax Commission is
responsible for identifying and assembling all publication materials for
each issue of the First Nations Gazette. These materials are then
transmitted to the Native Law Centre for formatting and final publishing
in accordance with the First Nations
Gazette Style Guide.
Contact Us
First Nations Gazette
c/o Native Law Centre - University of Saskatchewan
Room 160 Law Building
15 Campus Drive
Saskatoon SK S7N 5A6 Canada
Tel: (306) 966-6189 Fax: (306) 966-6207
E-Mail:
nlc.publications@usask.ca
Website: www.fng.ca
