In yet another forceful reminder that the Crown must hold consultations that are meaningful, conducted in good faith and held with an open mind, the Quebec Court of Appeal strongly endorsed the primacy of treaty rights of aboriginal peoples under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement in a decision widely expected to have ramifications across the country.

In landmark ruling that clearly signals that the courts are willing to enforce treaty rights, especially those that emanate from modern land claims treaties, the Quebec Court of Appeal held that the provincial government violated the treaty rights of the Cree, Inuit and Naskapi First Nations of northern Quebec when it unilaterally set caribou sport hunting levels and dates for the 2011-2012 season in the territories covered by the Treaty.

“This is an important judgment for aboriginal peoples who have signed a modern treaty, and for those who will eventually sign a modern treaty,” noted in an e-mail Jean-Sebastien-Clement, a Montreal lawyer with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP specializing in aboriginal law. “It confirms that a Court, when faced with a treaty violation, must declare the violation and issue a remedy appropriate to the circumstances, no matter what the circumstances are.”

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