On March 20th, 2018, the British Columbia Supreme Court released a decision that considered for the first time how to resolve conflicts between the twin constitutional obligations placed on the Crown under s. 35: treaty obligations, and the duty to consult with respect to asserted rights and title.

On February 6, 2018, the government of Canada introduced Bill C-68 to the House of Commons. The Bill proposes An Act to amend the Fisheries Act and other Acts in consequence and was announced by Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc as part of a promised overhaul of the Fisheries Act by the Liberal government.

On February 2nd, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Williams Lake Indian Band v. Canada (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development). In essence, the Court determined that Canada can be liable for breach of a fiduciary duty both before and after Confederation.

On December 1, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released the judgment in Nacho Nyak Dun v. Yukon, 2017 SCC 58 (“Nacho Nyak Dun”) a case concerning the interpretation of modern treaties and, in particular, the Crown’s obligations in the collaborative land use planning process established by the Yukon Final Agreements.

On November 2, 2017 the Supreme Court of Canada (“Court”) released its decision in Ktunaxa Nation v British Columbia. The case focused on whether the British Columbia Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations ( “Minister”) erred in approving a ski resort development, despite claims by the Ktunaxa Nation that the Jumbo Glacier ski resort would breach their constitutional right to freedom of religion and to protection of Aboriginal interests under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

First Nation employers that are regulated by the Canada Labour Code are no longer able to dismiss employees on a without cause basis.

On February 25, 2014, Fred Reid Elliott, a 74-year-old elder of the Stz’uminus First Nation, was arrested and placed in handcuffs, and his boat and truck were seized, for selling prawns to an undercover Department of Fisheries (DFO) officer without a commercial licence. The arrest was the culmination of a nearly 7-month investigation that DFO insultingly referred to as “Operation Guppy”.

On April 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that the federal government has jurisdiction over Métis and non-status Aboriginal people. The Court’s landmark decision, Daniels v Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), 2016 SCC 12, ends a long-standing “jurisdictional tug-of-war” over which level of government has constitutional authority over these Aboriginal people. Prior to this case…

Ktunaxa Nation has one last opportunity to challenge the proposed Jumbo Glacier ski resort, this time in the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). Glacier Resort Ltd.’s planned development in the Jumbo Valley is in the heart of Qat’muk – a unique and sacred place for Ktunaxa and the Great Spirit Bear. On March 17, 2016, the SCC granted the Ktunaxa Nation leave to appeal the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) decision…

On April 5, 2016, the Tla’amin Nation became the eighth self-governing First Nation in British Columbia through the implementation of the Tla’amin Final Agreement. The implementation of this modern treaty with Canada and BC involved the passage of 21 Tla’amin laws and the largest electronic land title registration in the history of the province. After more than 20 years of negotiations, the Tla’amin Nation now controls more than 8,300 hectares of land in its traditional territory near Powell River…