Key terms and definitions

Band – means a body of Indians:

1. for whose use and benefit in common, lands, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, have been set apart before, on or after September 4, 1951,
2. for whose use and benefit in common, moneys are held by Her Majesty, or
3. declared by the Governor in Council to be a band for the purposes of this Act.

(definition from the Indian Act)

Exits – for the purposes of this report refers to a door that allows for a path of escape from any point in a structure to outside of the structure or to a space protected from fire exposure. The Ontario Fire Code defines exit as follows: Exit means that part of a means of egress, including doorways, that leads from the floor area it serves to a separate building, an open public thoroughfare or an exterior open space protected from fire exposure from the building and having access to an open public thoroughfare.

First Nations – This term refers to the Original Peoples of what is now Canada who are not Métis or Inuit. First Nations is a term that was created and embraced to replace the term “Indian” and is seen as a respectful descriptor of the Original Peoples of this land. The term First Nations is used commonly as a more accurate and respectful term to describe Bands created under the Indian Act

First Nations communities – The term First Nations communities may include both on and off-reserve communities. For the purposes of this review, only fires that occurred on-reserve were examined.

Ignition source – refers to how a fire can start including open flame, lightning strike, electrical arc, etc.

The Indian Register – is the official record identifying Indigenous people registered as Indian under the Indian Act. According to section 5 of the Indian Act, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is responsible for maintaining the Register. 

Indigenous – This is a term that is currently used as a general descriptor of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples within Canada. For over 20 years, Original Peoples from around the world negotiated the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and “Indigenous Peoples” was proposed as the most respectful term to refer to the Original Peoples of any territory.

Manner of death – There are five manners of death used in Ontario death investigations: Natural, Accident, Suicide, Homicide, and Undetermined. A classification of Undetermined will be made if the cause of death could not be selected from the other four classifications due to inadequate evidence, equal evidence for two or more classifications, or not reasonably fitting the definitions of the four classifications. The classification of manner is made impartially, on the basis of balance of probabilities, and following careful scrutiny of the relevant evidence. The terminology used in other legislation (such as the Criminal Code), as well as findings of criminal, civil, professional or other hearings relating to the death are irrelevant to the classification of manner of death under the Coroners Act.

Median – is the middle number, separating the higher half and lower half of a set of numbers.

MTSA – A Municipal-Type Service Agreement is an agreement between a First Nations community and a federal department, provincial ministry, municipal government, private contractor, individual, or organization.^{footnote 1[1]} Under most MTSAs, the First Nations community agrees to pay a fee in exchange for receiving third-party services such as the delivery of treated drinking water, solid waste disposal and fire protection.^{footnote 1[1]}

OCC – Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario.

OFPS – Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

OFM – Office of the Fire Marshal.

Residence – refers to a structure that one or more individuals live in.

Reserve:

1. means a tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band, and
2. except in subsection 18(2), sections 20 to 25, 28, 37, 38, 42, 44, 46, 48 to 51 and 58 to 60 and the regulations made under any of those provisions, includes designated lands.

(definition from the Indian Act)

Structure – may refer to any dwelling, occupancy, building, shelter, trailer, shed, etc. that may provide protection to people and/or property.