Aboriginal Law Report

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.

• UN committee to hear plight of waterless Shoal Lake First Nation Monday

A report highly critical of Alberta's land use management in the Lower Athabasca Region continued to make the news.

• Alberta violates Aboriginal and Treaty rights in tar sands region: report

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.

• Opinion: The risky business of land-based biosolids disposal

In Manitoba, non-Indigenous stakeholders launched a campaign against night hunting.

• Province needs to crack down on night hunting: wildlife federation

The implications of the two most recent Aboriginal title claims filed in British Columbia were discussed.

• 'All we want is a fair hearing,' chief says
• Editorial: Kwiketlem land claim needs settling

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

• Jackman v. Giesbrecht, 2016 BCSC 229

The Yukon Supreme Court was urged to postpone a duty to consult case brought by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.

• Whitehorse Daily Star: Proceeding with trial makes no sense: government

A lawsuit was filed challenging the Nova Scotia provincial government's decision to approve a natural gas storage project.

• Alton natural gas storage project in Stewiacke to face appeal

The Day Scholars Class Action lawsuit is gaining momentum.

• First Nations Bands across Canada Opting In Class Proceeding

The Williams Treaties First Nations were granted leave to file an expert report on the Indigenous perspective on the treaties.

• Alderville v. Canada, 2015 FC 920

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.

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