What is a regulatory gap? What is the impact of a regulatory gap?
A “regulatory gap” is the absence of adequate laws (including regulations and monitoring and enforcement systems) to govern an activity. Regulatory gaps occur on reserve lands where there is an absence of appropriate laws, applicable on reserve, to govern complex commercial or industrial activities. The result is that some proposed on-reserve projects are difficult or impossible to approve, finance or finalize. A regulatory gap creates uncertainty with respect to the process, time and costs associated with a project, and can divert potential investors from First Nation reserve lands to off-reserve jurisdictions where an established and familiar regulatory framework exists. Off-reserve commercial and industrial activities are governed by comprehensive provincial statutes and regulations that the province updates periodically. However, the elements of provincial regulatory regimes that relate to land use do not apply to reserve lands because the Government of Canada has exclusive authori
