Aboriginal Rights & Title | Mandell Pinder

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Ahousaht Indian Band and Nation v Canada (Attorney General) 2018 BCSC 633 – Case Summary

On April 19, 2018 the Honourable Madam Justice Humphries (“Humphries J.”) of the British Columbia Supreme Court (“BCSC”) released her decision in Ahousaht Indian Band and Nation v Canada (Attorney General), 2018 BCSC 633, ruling that the Ehattesaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht, Hesquiaht, Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht’s (the “Plaintiffs”) declared right to fish within their fishing territories and to […]

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Gamlaxyeltxw v British Columbia (Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations) 2018 BCSC 440 – Case Summary

This case involves an issue that is being litigated for the first time in Canadian courts. In the decision, Justice Sharma of the British Columbia Supreme Court was asked to address how to resolve a potential conflict between two constitutional duties: the Crown’s duty to an Aboriginal people with whom it has entered into a […]

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Mandell Pinder LLP

R v Desautel, 2017 BCSC 2389 – Case Summary

In R v Desautel, 2017 BCSC 2389, released on December 28, 2017, the British Columbia Supreme Court (“BCSC”) dismisses the Crown’s appeal of R v DeSautel, 2017 BCPC 84, and upholds Mr. Desautel’s acquittal on hunting charges. The BCSC confirms Mr. Desautel’s defence that he was exercising an aboriginal right to hunt for ceremonial purposes […]

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Ktunaxa Nation v British Columbia (Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations), 2017 SCC 54 – Case Summary

In Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia (Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations), 2017 SCC 54, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or the “Court”) decided that Qat’muk, a place of spiritual significance for the Ktunaxa Nation (the “Ktunaxa”), was not protected by the s. 2(a) Charter right to freedom of religion. With this decision, […]

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Clyde River (Hamlet) v Petroleum Geo‑Services Inc., 2017 SCC 40 and Chippewas of the Thames First Nation v Enbridge Pipelines Inc., 2017 SCC 41 – Case Summaries

On July 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its decisions in two cases: Clyde River (Hamlet) v. Petroleum Geo‑Services Inc. and Chippewas of the Thames First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc. In these cases Indigenous Nations argued that the Crown had breached its duty to consult when the National Energy Board (“NEB”) […]

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Gitxaala Nation v Canada, 2016 FCA 187 – Case Summary

On June 30, 2016 the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) released its decision to overturn Canada’s approval of the Northern Gateway Pipelines Project (the “Project”). In the decision, the FCA agreed with what First Nations had been saying all along and found that Canada’s approval of the Project could not stand as Canada had failed […]

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Coastal First Nations v. British Columbia (Environment) 2016 BCSC 34 – Case Summary

On January 13, 2016, the British Columbia Supreme Court (“Court”) released its reasons in the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline (“Project”) case.¹ In her decision, Madam Justice Koenigsberg found that a portion of an Equivalency Agreement (“Agreement”)² entered into between the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (“EAO”) and the National Energy Board (“NEB”) was invalid to the […]

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Aboriginal Title Litigation: Best Practices and Essential Legal Considerations, conference held by Affinity Institute, February 25, 2016

On February 25, 2016, Maria Morellato, Q.C., along with Geoffrey S. Moyse, Q.C., will be chairing the Affinity Institute’s conference titled Aboriginal Title Litigation: Best Practices and Essential Legal Considerations, in Vancouver. This unique intensive conference, entirely practical in nature, will bring together senior lawyers of the Aboriginal bar, including Cheryl Sharvit of our offices, […]

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Update on Recent Caselaw

This legal update, presented on September 28, 2015 to the Annual General Assembly of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, provides a round-up of some of the cases that have been decided in the last few months, and the trends these cases reveal. I. Consultation Ktunaxa Nation v British Columbia (Forests, Lands and Natural Resource […]

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Mandell Pinder LLP

Chartrand v. British Columbia (Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations), 2015 BCCA 345 – Case Summary

In a decision that provides welcome clarity on the Crown’s obligation to consult and set the proper stage for meaningful consultation to take place, the BC Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the BC Supreme Court, finding that the Province breached its duty to consult with the Kwakiutl First Nation (“KFN”) regarding the decisions […]