SUMMARY OF THE AGREEMENT-IN-PRINCIPLE
This page summarizes the key provisions of the “Agreement-in-Principle for the Recognition of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band”.
Discussion of many of the Agreement’s details is on the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page.
To read specific terms and provisions, please go to the Agreement-in-Principle page to download the entire legal document.
Please click on the following six links to read more about each summary section:
The Three Purposes of the Agreement-in-Principle
Membership in the New Band: Timing and Numbers
Founding Members: Eligibility and Enrolment
Access to Federal Programs
Band Governance and Leadership Selection
Litigation Release
The Three Purposes of the Agreement-in-Principle
- Create a process that leads to the establishment of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band
- Recognize members of the new band as Status Indians under the Indian Act
- Settle legal claims made by the FNI and its members who sought recognition as Status Indians under the Indian Act
Membership in the New Band: Timing and Numbers
The initial members of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band will be called “Founding Members.”
Once the Agreement-in-Principle is ratified, a five-person Enrolment Committee will determine who is eligible to become a Founding Member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band. Canada will appoint two members of the Enrolment Committee, and the FNI will appoint two. The fifth committee member is the Chair: a legally trained and well-respected person from the Newfoundland legal community, who is approved by both Canada and the FNI. The committee will follow guidelines outlined in the Agreement-in-Principle.
The Enrolment Committee is responsible for creating two lists of people who are eligible to become Founding Members of the new band. The first list is supposed to be completed 12 months after the Enrolment Committee is established. The number of applicants on this list must equal or exceed 50% of the total FNI membership on November 30, 2007. If this number is achieved, the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band will be established with members from the first Founding Members list.
If fewer than 50% of FNI members have successfully applied, the enrolment period can be extended by another six months—but only if there are more names on the list than 40% of the FNI membership. If, after this six-month extension, the number of people on the first list still does not equal or exceed 50% of the FNI’s membership, the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band will not be established and Canada will have no further obligation to negotiate.
If, however, there are sufficient numbers of eligible applicants, the Enrolment Committee will work for three more years to create the second (and final) list of Founding Members. At the end of this period, the people on this second list will become Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band members.
Canada and the FNI may agree to extend any of the time limits in the Agreement-in-Principle. However, once time has expired for creating the second list of Founding Members, no further applications to be a Founding Member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band will be considered.
See this process as a graph by clicking here.
Founding Members: Eligibility and Enrolment
To be eligible to be a Founding Member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band, you must document that you:
- have Canadian Indian ancestry, either by birth or adoption. You must prove through genealogy that you are a descendent of a person who is recognized to have been an aboriginal person. Applicants who claim Canadian Indian ancestry through Mi’kmaq-custom adoption must show that they were adopted before the age of nine, and that they were raised according to Mi’kmaq values, customs, and traditions.
- have been a member of a recognized Newfoundland Mi’kmaq community on or before March 31, 1949, the date on which Newfoundland joined Canada—or be a descendant of such a person by birth or adoption. Other communities may be added to this list with proof that there was a Mi’kmaq Indian group there on or before March 31, 1949.
- not be already registered as a Status Indian under the Indian Act.
- identify yourself as Mi’kmaq and have substantial connection to other Mi’kmaq on the island of Newfoundland. “Substantial connection” can be established either with proof that:
- you live in or near one of the communities specified in the Agreement (other Mi’kmaq communities may be added to this list).
- you frequently visit and/or communicate with Mi’kmaq who live in those communities, and that you have sought to maintain Mi’kmaq culture or ways of life.
OR
The Enrolment Committee reviews the applications and votes to accept or deny each application for enrolment on the list of Founding Members. The committee’s Chair will vote in case of a tie. An application will be denied if Canada’s representatives are not satisfied that the applicant meets these three criteria:
- Canadian Indian ancestry
- descendant of a person who was a member of one of the Pre-1949 communities
- not already registered under the Indian Act
- Applicants can appeal any decision of the Enrolment Committee to the Appeal Master appointed by the FNI and Canada (or by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, if they can’t agree). The Appeal Master will be legally trained and well-respected in the province’s legal community.
- Founding Members of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band must be living when Canada establishes the band.
Access to Federal Programs
The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band and its members will be eligible for certain federal programs. These programs currently include:
- Post-secondary Student Support
- Band Support Funding
- Band Employee Benefits
- Community Economic Development Organizations
- Community Support Services
- Community Economic Opportunities
- Non-insured Health Benefits
The band and its members may also be eligible to participate in various future federal programs to assist aboriginal peoples.
Band Governance and Leadership Selection
The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band will be governed by a band council made up of a Chief, two Vice-chiefs, and nine Councilors. Nine electoral wards will be established, each with one elected Councilor.
Until the first elections are held, the FNI’s board of directors will serve as the band council. The date of the first Qalipu Council election must be announced within six months of the establishment of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band; the election itself must take place no later than one year from the date the new band is created.
Litigation Release
Every person who applies to enrol as a Founding Member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band must give up any personal legal claims against Canada (past, present, or future) that seek either recognition as an Indian under the Indian Act, or damages caused by Canada’s past failure to provide benefits comparable to those available to Indians. The signed Release also requires you to opt out of any class action suit regarding Canada’s past failure to provide those benefits.
The Release becomes operative when and if the band is established and you are enrolled as a Founding Member in the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band.
The existing legal case by the FNI and former and current band Chiefs must also be dismissed by the Federal Court before the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band can be established. When the number of people required to form the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band is reached, the FNI and its lawyers will begin work to secure this dismissal.