Jack Woodward

Lawyer

Email: jack@woodwardandcompany.com

Assistant: Andrea Pickavance | andrea@woodwardandcompany.com

Profile

Jack has been practicing law since 1979. He works primarily in the realm of aboriginal, human rights and environmental law. Jack literally wrote the book on aboriginal law: he is the author of Native Law, (Carswell, 1989), Canada's leading text on the subject.

The University of Victoria Faculty of Law's first credit course in native law was developed by Jack, and he was an Instructor and Adjunct Professor of Law for sixteen years. He has been counsel at all levels of court for over a hundred Indian bands and organizations in a wide variety of cases.

Following on the heels of the Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia victory, Jack has embarked on another monumental challenge. This time, Jack is determined to stop the ecologically disastrous expansion of the tar sands.

Professional Standing:

Member, Law Society of B.C. (1979)
Author: Native Law, Carswell, 1989
Editor: Consolidated Native Law Statutes, Regulations and Treaties, Thompson/Carswell, 2002 – present, continuing
16 years Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Victoria

Selected Cases, Publications, Papers & Presentations:

Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, [2007] B.C.J. No. 2465, 2007 BCSC 1700 (leave to appeal granted, 2009 BCCA 83) (the Xeni Gwet’in aboriginal title and aboriginal rights case – Nemiah Valley)
Hupacasath Firth Nation v. British Columbia, 2002 BCSC 802, [2002] B.C.J. No. 1482 (appeal dismissed 2002 BCCA 2380 (the Referendum case)
Westbank First Nation v. British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, [1999] 4 C.N.L.R. 277, [1999] S.C.J. No. 38 (taxation of transmission lines)
Kwicksutaineuk/Ah-kwa-mish Tribes v. Canada (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans), [2004] S.C.C.A. No. 55 (licences to kill seals on fish farms)

Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage), [2005] S.C.J. No. 71, 2005 SCC 69 (infringement of treaty rights)
Delgamuukw v. The Queen, (1997 - Supreme Court of Canada) Intervenor on behalf of Westbank First Nation.
Martin v. A.G.B.C. and MacMillan Bloedel (Meares Island Injunction), [1985] 3 W.W.R. 577, 61 B.C.L.R. 145 (B.C.C.A.).
Leighton v. A.G.B.C. (1989), 35 B.C.L.R. (2d) 216 (C.A.) (provincial legislation which singles out Indians struck down as unconstitutional).
Woodward, Jack. Native Law. Loose-leaf. (Toronto: Carswell, 1990 and following).
Woodward, Jack ed. Consolidated Native Law Statutes, Regulations and Treaties. Annual. (Toronto: Carswell, 2001-2009).
Published lecture in "Making Peace and Sharing Power”, Why the Harvard Model of “Interest Based” negotiations is not suitable for negotiations about aboriginal rights. UVic Institute for Dispute Resolution. Victoria, 1997.

Woodward, Jack."Are you on the List? First Nations Fiscal And Statistical Management Act."

Woodward, Jack. "Converting the Communal Aboriginal interest into Private Property: Sarnia, Osoyoos, the Nisga'a Treaty and other Recent Developments." In Beyond the Nass Valley: National Implications of the Supreme Court's Delgamuukw Decision, Owen Lippert, ed. (Vancouver: Fraser Institute, 2000).

Woodward, Jack. "Why the 'Interest-based' Model is not Suitable for Negotiations About Aboriginal Rights." SpruceRoots Magazine, September 1998.
How Indigenous Hunting and Fishing Rights Can Stop the Environmental Catastrophe of Canada’s Tar Sands, London School of Economics, February 23, 2009

Other Activities:

Farmer (devoted to growing organically), entrepreneur, Chair of the Board of Variance for Salt Spring and Thetis Islands.