Category:Far North Act

The purpose of the legislation is to provide for community based land use planning in the Far North that sets out a joint planning process between First Nations and the Ontario government. It acknowledges that this process will be done in a manner that is consistent with the recognition and affirmation of existing Aboriginal and treaty rights in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, including the duty to consult. A broader purpose of the Far North Act, 2010 is to support “the environmental, social and economic objectives for land use planning” for the peoples of Ontario, which includes the following objectives:

1. a significant role for First Nations in the planning;

2. the protection of areas of cultural value in the Far North and the protection of ecological systems in the Far North by including at least 225,000 square kilometres of the Far North in an interconnected network of protected areas designated in community based land use plans;

3. the maintenance of biological diversity, ecological processes and ecological functions, including the storage and sequestration of carbon in the Far North; and,

4. enabling sustainable economic development that benefits the First Nations.