Category: Aboriginal Page 23 of 32

The Crown Owes No Duty to Consult Indigenous Communities Before Ratifying a Bilateral Investment Treaty

On September 10, 2013

PDF Version: The Crown Owes No Duty to Consult Indigenous Communities Before Ratifying a Bilateral Investment Treaty

Case commented on: Hupacasath First Nation v Minister of Foreign Affairs Canada and the Attorney General of Canada, 2013 FC 2009

In this case Chief Justice Crampton of the Federal Court Trial Division rejected the application of the claimant Hupacasath First Nation (HFN) for a declaration that Canada is required to engage in a process of consultation and accommodation with First Nations, including HFN, prior to ratifying or taking other specific steps that will bind Canada to the terms of the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People’s Republic of China for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (CCFIPPA) (text available here). It was common ground (at paras 11 and 12) that while the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade had consulted with stakeholders, that consultation did not extend to HFN or other First Nations.

Advance Costs and Trusts: Little Sisters and Okanagan Distinguished

By MaryWyatt Sindlinger

On September 9, 2013

In Aboriginal, Access to Justice

PDF Version: Advance Costs and Trusts: Little Sisters and Okanagan Distinguished

Case commented on: 1985 Sawridge Trust v Alberta (Public Trustee), 2013 ABCA 226

The Alberta Court of Appeal recently upheld an award of advance costs originally granted in 1985 Sawridge Trust v Alberta (Public Trustee), 2013 ABCA 226. In so doing, the Court of Appeal distinguished British Columbia (Minister of Forests) v Okanagan Indian Band, 2003 SCC 71, [2003] 3 SCR 371 [Okanagan] and Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v Canada (Commissioner of Customs and Revenue), 2007 SCC 2, [2007] 1 SCR 38 [Little Sisters (No.2)] concluding that the strict requirements of Little Sisters and Okanagan did not apply in the unique, non-adversarial circumstances of Sawridge Trust.

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The Petition of the Arctic Athabaskan Peoples to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights

By Verónica de la Rosa Jaimes

On July 22, 2013

In Aboriginal, Climate Change, Environmental, International Law

By: Verónica de la Rosa Jaimes

PDF Version: The Petition of the Arctic Athabaskan Peoples to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights

Matter Commented On: Petition to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights seeking relief from violations of the rights of Arctic Athabaskan Peoples resulting from rapid arctic warming and melting caused by emissions of black carbon by Canada

The indigenous peoples of the Arctic, including the Arctic Athabaskan peoples, have contributed the least to the accelerated warming and melting of the Arctic through emissions of greenhouse gases yet they are among the first to face direct environmental, social and human impacts of climate change. On April 23rd, 2013 the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC), represented by Earthjustice and Ecojustice Canada, on behalf of all the Arctic Athabaskan Peoples of the Arctic regions of Canada and United States, filed a petition with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) seeking relief from violations of their rights resulting from rapid Arctic warming and melting caused by emissions of black carbon for which Canada has international responsibility. The petition is a detailed and comprehensive memorial that includes a thorough analysis of international human rights law and case law, as well as the evidence of some Athabaskan people claiming violations of their human rights.

The Territorial Basis of Métis Hunting Rights

By Nigel Bankes

On July 16, 2013

In Aboriginal

PDF version: The Territorial Basis of Métis Hunting Rights

Case commented on: R v Hirsekorn, 2013 ABCA 242.

There is something special about the Cypress Hills area of southeast Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan. I remember my first visit to this beautiful area some twenty years ago and although I have not been back more than a handful of times since, the region still resonates vividly in my memory of landscapes and seascapes. The special nature of this region was also recognized by the aboriginal peoples of the plains long before colonial settlement although it was clearly contested territory as between Blackfeet peoples to the west and Cree peoples to the east. Indeed, as the record in this case amply demonstrates, the Cypress Hills was a place for visits and for forays but not a place to stay for a long time. And if this was true for the Blackfeet and Cree it was even more so for the Métis who could not safely stay in the area before the North West Mounted Police established a presence there in 1874.

The Indian Residential School Settlement: Is Reconciliation Possible?

By Kathleen Mahoney

On June 26, 2013

In Aboriginal

PDF Version: The Indian Residential School Settlement: Is Reconciliation Possible?

Matter considered: The Indian Residential School Settlement

Being the Chief Negotiator for the Assembly of First Nations instigating and completing the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, cannot be described in words. The round- the- clock sessions with upwards of 80 lawyers, the meetings from coast to coast to coast with survivors, the conferences with experts from around the world, negotiations with the Vatican and the Prime Minister’s office – it doesn’t get much better than that for a human rights lawyer and law professor. Out of this amazing odyssey came the largest, most comprehensive and unique class action judgment in Canadian legal history. The question now is, to what effect? Can we expect reconciliation with the First Nations of Canada? Will the wounds finally heal? These are the questions up for discussion in this blog.