In the South, most land claims include some sort of reserve creation system and lands held under reserve status include subsurface rights. In most of the provinces, if subsurface resources are developed on FN reserve land, the royalties are to be held in capital trust accounts for the First Nation.

No, people can not go around just buying up subsurface rights...those rights are reserved, again, generally to the Crown.

In terms of Aboriginal lands...the Treaties are specific on surface versus subsurface rights, as well as the types of minerals that are reserved. 'Royal' minerals (gold and silver) are generally always reserved to the Crown. Oil and gas depend, and there is some confusion about certain things like sand/gravel as being a mineral...(the general rule is that unless you have subsurface rights, you only get to scrape off or 'mine' the sand/gravel to a certain depth).

Generally the First Nation has to acquire the minerals where it can afford to. It is complicated and can get muddled. And it can very much depend on which First Nation you talk to about their claims land purchasing process. The Feds and provinces have been trying to standardize the process, for the prairie First Nations that is. But there are different systems in every province when it comes to land and mineral title holdings. The process of reserve creation can get heady for the First Nation.

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Originally posted by Yiwah:
Brian, I have no idea what you mean. Subsurface rights in Canada are governed by pretty cut and dry common law and statues. The Crown owns most of the subsurface/minerals rights in the country".
Maybe if you phrase yourself a bit clearer I can go into this more, but I'm not quite sure what you're asking.

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Originally posted by Brian White:

In BC people can stake a claim to subsurface rights with a mouse click. (I think it started about a year ago).

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Originally posted by Yiwah:
Huh...learn something new everyday...

Well, I don't see this as much different than what the Crown has often done...passing it's responsibility onto private parties. Land claims aren't as successful when the interests are held by private individuals or corporations because they simply do not have a fiduciary to aboriginal peoples the way the Crown does. However...in terms of lands that are currently being claimed and negotiated, I don't think that the honour of the Crown could stand too much subsurface private speculation...but then again...

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http://www.miningwatch.ca/
Miningwatch doesn't mention this 'twist'!

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Originally posted by jester:
So, Wwhat about mineral rights? Perhaps an open discussion on the pros and cons of mineral exploration is in order. Anyone prepared to participate?

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Originally posted by Brian White:

Well, I think 17 cents an acre is pretty cheap, dont you think?
I also think that surface owners should have first dibs, and that any land in dispute (as in land claims) should not have the subsurface rights sold off for a few cents. They should be held back from the fire sale. And why the hell is there a fire sale anyway?
And why are the mining companys giving the government party so much money?
In a normal holy free market, rather than sell a whole bunch at a time, you sell little parcels so as not to flood the market.
It is pretty plain what is going on.
The NDP, if they had any brains, could have a lot of support if they had a sane policy (and well publicized) on mining rights.
People who pay 2 or 300, 000 for 500 sq ft up in the air WILL appreciate the value of land at 17 cents an acre!
Renters will apreciate that their rent on 8 to 900 sq for 1 MONTH could buy the mining rights to guess how much land?
5000 ACRES (for god knows how long)!!!
So, forget renting, go out, claim, and set up a little hut so you can MANAGE your claim.
With 5000 acres to piss in, and 850 a month saved, you wont be complaining!
Brian

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There is a fire sale because they want to get the mineral rights out of government hands so they won't be available for land claims by Indigenous people. Someone asked Dalton McGuinty why land under claim in Ontario isn't excluded from development (e.g., Caledonia), and he replied that if they did that, there would be no development.

Crown land is aboriginal title land 'assumed' by the federal government in a variety of devious ways. It has now been downloaded to the provinces (I wonder why?) and development of the land has been further downloaded to the municipalities.(I wonder why?) Then the feds made a law that land cannot be returned if it is no longer in their hands, and development of land proceeds regardless of land claims because they are intentionally kept apart. (Oh, that's why!) This is part of what has made land claims such a morass, and made it necessary for aboriginal groups to reclaim land from development themselves, exactly as happened in Caledonia and now in Tyendinaga.

This persistent campaign on the part of the government becomes clearer as each layer is removed. Successive Canadian governments' intent to retain resource rights but not 'ownership' of the land, to try and bypass land claims, is the biggest white collar crime Canada will ever see!

[ 08 January 2007: Message edited by: saga ]