government of the
TA'AN KWÄCH'ÄN COUNCIL
The Ta'an Kwäch'än Council became a self-governing First Nation on 1 April 2002.
The Self-Government Agreement
Part III, Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Legislation, of the Self-Government Agreement provides a comprehensive list of Ta'an Kwäch'än Council law-making authority. Part IV, Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Programs and Services, of the Self-Government Agreement enables the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council to deliver programs and services to Ta'an Kwäch'än citizens.
The Constitution
The Constitution of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council was enacted in accordance with section 10 of the Self-Government Agreement. The constitution enshrines the broad principles on which the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council operates, including the rights and responsibilities of Ta'an Kwäch'än citizens, of all levels of the Government of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council, the description and role of key Ta'an Kwäch'än Council government institutions, and the basis on which detailed rules may be established or changed.
The Structure and Functions
of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council
Government Branches
Organizational Chart
Legislative Process
Legal and Regulatory Measures
Programs and Services
Final and Self-Government Agreements,
Aboriginal Rights and Title
and the Constitution Act, 1982
Signing the Agreements (January 2002). From left to right: former Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Hereditary Chief Glenn Grady, Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Chairperson John Burdek, and federal chief negotiator Tim Koepke.
The Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Final Agreement is a treaty within the meaning of section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Ta'an Kwäch'än Council Self-Government Agreement is not considered a treaty at this time but cannot be changed or amended without the consent of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council.
The Final Agreement stipulates that on settlement lands the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council retains its aboriginal rights and title to the extent that they are consistent with the terms of the Final Agreement. The Ta'an Kwäch'än Council has therefore ceded, released and surrendered its aboriginal claims, rights, title and interests on non-settlement lands only. (As with other land claim agreements, the release applies to aboriginal rights related to lands and resources.)
Although the Final Agreement does not acknowledge the existence of aboriginal rights and title, the certainty provisions do not close the door on the future evolution of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council's aboriginal rights and title by ensuring that the Final Agreement will not affect the ability of Ta'an Kwäch'än citizens to exercise, or benefit from, any existing or future ‘residual' and constitutional rights for aboriginal people that may be applicable to Ta'an Kwäch'än citizens. This means that Ta'an Kwäch'än citizens will be able to take advantage of such aboriginal rights even if they occur after the Final Agreement came into effect.
The Self-Government Agreement sets out a similar provision. Thus, the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council has the right to amend its Self-Government Agreement if another First Nation in Canada negotiates, for example, more favorable taxation powers or exemptions. The Ta'an Kwäch'än Council may then request the incorporation of those more favorable provisions into its own Self-Government Agreement. Moreover, the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council is not precluded from advocating before the courts any position on the existence, nature or scope of any fiduciary or other relationship between the Crown and the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council.
Lastly, the establishment of a Ta'an Kwäch'än Council does not sever the relationship between Ta'an Kwäch'än citizens and the governments of Canada and the Yukon Territory. Nothing in the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council final and self-government agreements has therefore altered, changed or affected the rights of the Ta'an Kwäch'än as Canadian citizens.
© 2008 Government of the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council