A community presentation on the draft HLGAAGILDA (Skidegate) Land Code was canceled this week due to icy road conditions and ongoing winter weather across Haida Gwaii.
The session was scheduled to explain how Skidegate could assume control over land management on its reserve lands by adopting its own land code and entering into a formal agreement with the federal government.
If approved, the land code would replace the sections of the Indian Act that govern reserve land administration, allowing Skidegate to manage its reserve lands through its own locally developed rules and processes instead of federal oversight.
According to information published by Skidegate Band Council, reserve land management is currently handled by Indigenous Services Canada under the authority of the Indian Act, with Skidegate council playing a limited advisory role.
The proposed land code is part of the federal Framework Agreement on First Nation Land Management, which allows participating First Nations to resume governance over their reserve lands through their own land laws following approval by community vote.
Skidegate Band Council is one of 217 First Nations across Canada to sign onto the framework agreement. To date, 124 First Nations have implemented their own land codes, according to the band’s website.
The HLGAAGILDA Land Code is separate from agreements negotiated by the Council of the Haida Nation. CHN agreements apply to lands outside reserve boundaries across Haida Gwaii, while the proposed land code would apply only to lands within the Skidegate reserve.
Band council states the land code would not affect treaty or Indigenous rights, taxation, land claims, additions to reserve lands, or the role of the Council of the Haida Nation regarding non-reserve lands. It also would not expand provincial or municipal jurisdiction.
Despite the canceled presentation, the ratification process is moving ahead.
Skidegate members will be asked to vote on whether to approve both the land code and an accompanying Individual Agreement with Canada.
The ballot question asks eligible voters:
“Do you approve: The HLGAAGILDA (Skidegate) Land Code, dated for reference November 14, 2025; and the Individual Agreement with His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, accepted by BCR dated November 14, 2025, for reference only?”
All Skidegate Band members aged 18 and over are eligible to vote, provided they complete a voter declaration form.
Electronic and paper copies of the draft land code, the Individual Agreement, and information on the ratification process are available at www.skidegate.ca/lands or at the Skidegate Band Administration Office at 848 Highway 16 in Skidegate. The office can be reached at 250-559-4496.
Skidegate council has not yet announced a new date for the postponed community presentation.
