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Difference between revisions of "Indigenous Families"
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→Family property and family debt
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Dividing property can be a bit of a problem for Aboriginal spouses when real property on reserve is involved. | Dividing property can be a bit of a problem for Aboriginal spouses when real property on reserve is involved. | ||
In a nutshell, the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/index.html Constitution Act]'' gives the federal government exclusive authority over laws relating to | In a nutshell, the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/index.html Constitution Act]'' gives the federal government exclusive authority over laws relating to First Nations people and reserve lands. | ||
This means that the provincial government cannot make laws that deal with | This means that the provincial government cannot make laws that deal with First Nations people and that in some circumstances provincial laws do not apply on reserve lands. The problem here, from a family law point of view, is that since the federal government cannot pass laws dealing with personal property and real property (only the provincial governments can), and since the provincial governments cannot pass laws dealing with members of Canada's First Nations or their lands (only the federal government can), the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' can't be used to divide an interest in real property on reserve lands. | ||
Making matters worse, people living on reserves generally don't own their property the way that off-reserve property can be owned. The only kind of ownership individuals on reserve lands can have is a Certificate of Possession that gives the owner the right to occupy the land but not the legal title to that land. | Making matters worse, people living on reserves generally don't own their property the way that off-reserve property can be owned. The only kind of ownership individuals on reserve lands can have is a Certificate of Possession that gives the owner the right to occupy the land but not the legal title to that land. | ||
