| This thesis critically analyzes the First Nations Property Ownership Act (FNPOA), a developing piece of federal legislation that is based on the arguments contained in the book, "Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights." The FNPOA, if enacted by Parliament in 2013, would permit participating First Nations communities to establish a private property regime within the reserve's boundaries in order to facilitate economic development. This thesis asks all First Nations leaders to reject the FNPOA if it is enacted due to its similarities to the White Paper of 1969, in that both can lead to assimilation, as well as its potential to lead to the dispossession of Indigenous people from their land base. While this thesis acknowledges that there are minor differences between the FNPOA and the White Paper, their end results would be the same: fulfilling Indian policy's long term goal, which is to eliminate the reserve system and turn Indigenous people into land owning citizens as a way to eliminate the Crown's expensive fiduciary duty. |
