INAC is responsible for two separate yet equally important mandates: Indian and Inuit Affairs and Northern Affairs. This broad mandate is derived largely from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Act, the Indian Act, territorial acts and legal obligations arising from section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867; however, the department is responsible for administering over 50 statutes in total.1 Consequently, INAC’s mandate is complex and its responsibilities encompass a broad range of services.
In general, INAC has primary, but not exclusive, responsibility for meeting the federal government’s constitutional, treaty, political and legal responsibilities to First Nations, Inuit and Northerners. To fulfill this mandate, INAC must work collaboratively with First Nations, Inuit and Northerners, as well as with other federal departments and agencies, provinces and territories. Increasingly, INAC’s role has become one of facilitating change and bringing together the partners and interests needed to implement Gathering Strength: Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan.