The Supreme Court of Canada shed new light on the Crown’s constitutional duty to consult with Aboriginal communities and clarified the role and obligation of decision-making bodies in two separate decisons that has the potential of providing greater predictability for natural resources companies seeking regulatory approval.
aboriginal peoples
-
Supreme Court of Canada clarifies duty to consult
-
Appeal court postpones ruling that would have suspended Indian status registrations
The Quebec Court of Appeal granted a safeguard order today that temporarily postpones a court ruling that would have suspended new Indian status registrations as of July 4th.
Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Nicholas Kasirer granted the Attorney General of Canada leave to appeal from a June 27th decision that refused to extend for a second time the suspension of its August 3, 2015 judgment that found that the principal registration provisions of the Indian Act were invalid because it breached s.15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
-
New Indian status registrations in jeopardy
A suspension on new Indian status registrations could begin new week unless the Quebec Court of Appeal issues a safeguard order that would temporarily suspend a ruling that ordered the federal government to correct discriminatory provisions in the Indian Act that infringe the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Masse dismissed a motion earlier this week to extend Parliament’s deadline for eliminating sex discrimination from the registration provisions in the Indian Act. Ottawa had already received a couple of extensions.
-
Appeal court endorses primacy of treaty rights
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.”