Comprehensive Claims Policy

In 1973, the Government of Canada established a policy for negotiating and settling Aboriginal land claims, the Comprehensive Claims Policy. This policy was reaffirmed and expanded in 1986.

Negotiating a comprehensive land claim in the NWT means that a group of Aboriginal people, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories try to come to an agreement about who owns a particular section of land and its resources.

There is another type of claim, called a specific claim. A specific land claim means that a group of Aboriginal people, the Government of Canada and the Government of the Northwest Territories try to come to an agreement about existing historical treaties and treaty details, such as reserve land, obligations, etc.