Agreement amending the Stz'uminus First Nation Tax Collection Agreement (no. 1)
BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ("Canada")
and represented by the Minister of Finance
AND
THE STZ'UMINUS FIRST NATION
(formerly known as the Chemainus First Nation)
("Stz'uminus First Nation")
as represented by the Chief
(hereinafter collectively called the "Parties")
WHEREAS:
The Parties entered into the Tax Collection Agreement effective August 14, 2000, in respect of a sales tax imposed under Stz'uminus First Nation Law;
Stz'uminus First Nation enacted a by-law under the authority of the Budget Implementation Act, 2000 (Chemainus First Nation Community Improvement Fee By-Law), thereby imposing the Chemainus First Nation Community Improvement Fee on their reserve lands;
The Chemainus First Nation are now referred to as the Stz'uminus First Nation and all laws made under the authority of its former name have been continued as laws of the Stz'uminus First Nation;
For the purposes of the Agreement, all references to Chemainus First Nation or Chemainus are references to the Stz'uminus First Nation;
The Tax Collection Agreement is an administration agreement entered into on behalf of Canada by the Minister of Finance, with the approval of the Governor in Council, pursuant to subsection 7(1) of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. F-8;
Subsection 7(2) of the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act enables the Minister of Finance, with the approval of the Governor in Council, to on behalf of Canada enter into an agreement amending the terms and conditions of an administration agreement;
The Minister of Finance has the approval of the Governor in Council to enter into this Agreement;
The Chief has the approval of Stz'uminus First Nation to enter into this Agreement;
NOW THEREFORE, the parties agree as follows:
Interpretation
- Words and expressions not specifically defined in this Agreement have the meaning given to them in the Tax Collection Agreement.
- This Agreement commences on the day following the latter of the dates this Agreement is signed by the Parties.
Amendments
The Tax Collection Agreement, is amended as follows:
-
Article 21 of the Tax Collection Agreement is replaced by the following:
"21. A reconciliation comparing the interim payments paid to Chemainus during the reconciliation period and net CCIF Revenues for the reconciliation period will be made once a year. A copy of such reconciliation, together with any relevant information used in arriving at net CCIF Revenues, except in cases where the provision of such information is prohibited by law, and the Auditor General's report, referred to in article 39, will be provided to Chemainus on or before December 31st."
-
The following article is added immediately after article 28 of the Tax Collection Agreement in a new section titled "Assignment of Revenues" as outlined below:
"Assignment of Revenues
28.1 Net CCIF Revenues are permitted to be used as security for a loan referred to in paragraph 74(b) of the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, subject to any other applicable conditions being satisfied under that Act."
Signature
- This Agreement may be executed by original (handwritten) signature or electronic signature, which will be considered as an original signature for all purposes and has the same force and effect as an original signature on paper and which includes electronically scanned and transmitted versions (e.g., via pdf) of an original signature.
- This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which will constitute an original and when taken together will constitute one and the same instrument.
Acknowledged and agreed to on behalf of Stz'uminus First Nation.
Dated at Ladysmith, BC, the 10th day of December, 2025.
Original signed on behalf of Stz'uminus First Nation by the Chief, Chief John Elliott
Chief of Stz'uminus First Nation
Acknowledged and agreed to on behalf of the Government of Canada
Dated at Ottawa, ON, the 12th day of June, 2026.
Original signed on behalf of Canada by the Minister of Finance, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Finance of Canada
