
Aboriginal Law Report
By Bruce McIvor
Here's our update for the week ending February 21, 2016.
In the News
LNG terminals on British Columbia's north-west coast continued to be debated.
- LNG plant could wipe out salmon in northern B.C., Russian researchers warn
- North Coast reacts to PNW LNG environmental assessment
- Uncertainty hangs over future of B.C. LNG projects amid supply glut
Members of Shoal Lake #40 First Nation travelled to Geneva to explain to the United Nations the effects of being isolated on their reserve.
A report highly critical of Alberta's land use management in the Lower Athabasca Region continued to make the news.
While BC Hydro heads to court next week seeking an injunction against protesters opposed to the Site C dam, it continues to try to negotiate for the support of local First Nations.
- Site C protest campers in court Monday
- Opponents call for Site C delay ahead of B.C. court case
- BC Hydro Injunction Against Site C Dam Encampment 'Fundamentally Flawed': Former CEO Marc Eliesen
- Crown land quietly offered to First Nations in return for Site C dam site
The effects of dumping sewage sludge was analyzed.
In Manitoba, non-Indigenous stakeholders launched a campaign against night hunting.
The implications of the two most recent Aboriginal title claims filed in British Columbia were discussed.
From the Courts
A lawsuit against the Chief of the Kwikwetlem First Nation in British Columbia was thrown out for raising no reasonable claim and for being an abuse of process
The Yukon Supreme Court was urged to postpone a duty to consult case brought by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.
A lawsuit was filed challenging the Nova Scotia provincial government's decision to approve a natural gas storage project.
The Day Scholars Class Action lawsuit is gaining momentum.
The Williams Treaties First Nations were granted leave to file an expert report on the Indigenous perspective on the treaties.
Quote of the Week
“It’s a very scary thought to actually think that 10 years down the road or even 5 years down the road that we cannot practice our way of surviving. Why do we have to wait till that point to get it fixed? Let’s figure out these facts now while we have the time."
Mikisew Cree hunter and trapper Robert Grandjambe
"All that interests him is the end result: he wants to see the land cleared next morning, so the new construction can start. This is a characteristically modern style of evil: indirect, impersonal, mediated by complex organizations and institutional roles."
Marshall Berman, All That is Solid Melts Into Air: The Experience of Modernity (1982)
My Two Bits
Indigenous jurisdiction and land use planning (audio file)
Bruce McIvor, lawyer and historian, is principal of First Peoples Law Corporation.
For more First Peoples Law comments see our publications page
Follow us on @firstpeopleslaw
Download a free copy of the newest edition of Bruce's essays--order a paperback copy.
All-Time Most Popular Posts
The Age of Recognition: The Significance of the Tsilhqot'in Decision
The Case for Denying Indigenous Rights
Provinces Burdened with Responsibility for Fulfilling Treaty Promises
What Tsilhqot’in and Grassy Narrows Mean for Treaty First Nations
Environmental Assessments and the Duty to Consult
The Piecemeal Infringement of Treaty Rights