Overview Of Part 24

Part 24 is the mechanism under which land constitutionally characterized as “lands reserved for the Indians” under s. 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 can be brought under the British Columbia Torrens system. This mechanism is distinct from lands settled by treaty and registered under the provi­sions in Part 24.01 and Part 24.1 of the Act.

As a first step, under Part 24, special federal legislation is required. A legislative model is found in the title registration provisions of the shíshálh Nation Self-Government Act, S.C. 1986, c. 27.

In addition to the federal Act and Part 24 of this Act, provincial regulations are necessary. British Columbia Regulations 488/88, 489/88, and 490/88 and Order in Council No. 753/90 contain essential elements of the legislative model. Copies of the regulations and the order in council are provided as Appendixes 1 through 4. At the date of publication, B.C. Reg. 489/88 still referred to the shíshálh Nation Self-Government Act by its former title before amendment in 2022 and the shíshálh Nation by the anglicized name used therein before amendment.

Part 24, together with the regulations and the order in council, constitutes the legislative framework, within the legislative competence of the province, for the registration of titles and interests respecting reserve lands. Inasmuch as the subject matter of the regime falls within the legislative competence of the federal government, the province cannot legislate directly in this field. Therefore, the authorizing federal legislation must be read with Part 24 and with individual First Nation (still referred to in Part 24 as “band”) laws enacted in accordance with the regulations made under Part 24.

The combined legislative model effectively delegates federal legislative authority to the First Nation, which, in turn, adopts all requisite provincial laws necessary for an unqualified subjection of the First Nation’s lands to the provincial title registration system. For this reason, it is important, for the administration of the system, that the form of all adopting laws be identical.

The Director of Land Titles assumes direction of all aspects of the entry process and works closely with the registrar of the affected land title office. All inquiries regarding the application of Part 24 to a specific situation or First Nation should be referred to the director.