Archive for the Category "Aboriginal Rights"
After free Olympic tickets, what next?
The treatment of First Nation Chiefs as “heads of state” at the Olympics will have real significance if this status is accorded First Nations beyond the Olympics. Apparently, it results from an agreement signed prior to the Vancouver bid for the Games to which all political actors who would be involved in the Games were [...]
Posted in Aboriginal Rights, British Columbia, Canada | 1 Comment »>
Honourable Frank Iacobucci on Residential Schools
Notes from a keynote speech by Justice Iacobucci at the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL) Fall Conference.
Grew up in the East End of Vancouver, where there was lots of diversity of people from many backgrounds. Justice Iacobucci noted that he entered the law exactly 50 years ago, in 1959, when he graduated from UBC. [...]
Interesting Week for Law-Related Government Studies and Reports
It has been a good week for people interested in Canadian government documents related to law and justice issues.
The most recent Weekly Checklist of Government of Canada Publications includes 2 parliamentary committee reports:
the June 2009 report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security entitled Statutory Review of the DNA [...]
Posted in Aboriginal Rights, Canada, Criminal Law, Evidence, Government Documents, Parliament, Statistics | No Comments »>
A new approach to mining law
Lots of activity today on the legislative front in Ontario. Major changes to the Mining Act were unveiled by Michael Gravelle, the Minister of Northern Development and Mines who introduced the Mining Amendment Bill .
Read more… or Read more right here… »
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Australian Law Reform Commission Journal Issue on Native Title
The most recent issue of Reform, the journal of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), is devoted to Native Title.
As noted by Professor David Weisbrot, ALRC President, in his Comment, the Commission has played an instrumental role in advancing the ideas of native title in Australia (based on Indigenous customary land tenure).
However, he writes that [...]
Ermineskin Nation Loses SCC Appeal
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals of the Ermineskin Nation et al. against the Federal Court of Appeal ruling that denied the plaintiffs’ claim that the federal government had a fiduciary role under Treaty Number 6 such that the oil and gas revenues resulting from extraction under the plaintiffs’ land should have been invested for [...]
Posted in Aboriginal Rights, Canada | No Comments »>
Former Supreme Court Justice Iacobucci To Mediate Truth and Reconciliation Commission Dispute
Former Supreme Court Justice Frank Iacobucci has been asked to help mediate the dispute that has paralyzed the work of the Truth And Reconciliation Commission that was set up earlier this year to deal with the historical legacy of the Indian residential school system.
Over the years, thousands of aboriginal students were subjected to physical, sexual [...]
Justice for Nunavummiut
The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice has released a 70-page report “Justice for Nunavummiut: Partnerships for Solutions” [PDF]. (Nunavummiut are Inuit living in Nunavut or who regard the territory as their home.)
This extensive study “presents recommendations for the following key issues:”
1. Access to public legal education and information
2. Access to legal services and legal professionals
3. [...]
Government of Canada Officially Apologizes for Indian Residential Schools Fiasco
Prime Minister Stephen Harper presented a formal apology today on behalf of the Canadian government for the damage done to generations of aboriginal Canadians who went through Indian residential schools.
The apology was read to a packed House of Commons in which many aboriginal leaders had been invited to sit. The apology ceremony was broadcast live [...]
National Centre for First Nations Governance Research Paper Series
The National Centre for First Nations Governance has announced the publication of “The Jurisdiction of Inherent Right Aboriginal Governments” [PDF] by Osgoode Hall Law School Scholar Kent McNeil. From the press release:
The inherent right of the Aboriginal peoples to govern themselves has become a generally accepted aspect of Canadian constitutional law.
But what is the scope [...]
