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Articles 1 - 30 of 31
Full-Text Articles in Law
A Narrowing Field Of View: An Investigation Into The Relationship Between The Principles Of Treaty Interpretation And The Conceptual Framework Of Canadian Federalism, Joshua Ben David Nichols
A Narrowing Field Of View: An Investigation Into The Relationship Between The Principles Of Treaty Interpretation And The Conceptual Framework Of Canadian Federalism, Joshua Ben David Nichols
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In its recent decisions in Tsilhqot’in Nation and Grassy Narrows, the Supreme Court of Canada has significantly altered the position of Indigenous peoples within the structure of Canadian federalism. This article sets out to investigate the basis for the Court’s jurisdiction to change this structure. Its approach is historical, as it covers judicial treaty interpretation from St Catherine’s Milling to Grassy Narrows. By contextualizing the most recent change in light of the last 250 years of treaty making, we can see how the notion of Crown sovereignty has become entangled with the Westphalian model of the state (i.e., the state …
The Wastelander Life: Living Before And After The Release Of Daniels V Canada, Signa A. Daum Shanks
The Wastelander Life: Living Before And After The Release Of Daniels V Canada, Signa A. Daum Shanks
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The difficulties of entering the Canadian legal system for Indigenous peoples often includes the challenge of using the tools that have a history of harming those same peoples in the first place. Such a reality means the pursuit of recognition in Canadian law will not always be a positive experience—even when a decision supposedly represents a ‘win.’ Here, the author considers some of the effects that have developed from the release of Daniels v Canada. As with other Supreme Court of Canada releases, it inspires observations about colonialism, the modern plight of Indigenous peoples, and the rule of law.
Land Regime Choice In Close-Knit Communities: The Case Of The First Nations Land Management Act, Malcolm Lavoie, Moira Lavoie
Land Regime Choice In Close-Knit Communities: The Case Of The First Nations Land Management Act, Malcolm Lavoie, Moira Lavoie
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Land interests on Canadian First Nations reserves have long been governed by the rigid and paternalistic provisions of the federal Indian Act, which require the permission of the federal Minister of Indigenous Affairs for even relatively minor land transactions. Yet an increasing number of First Nations have taken advantage of the 1999 First Nations Land Management Act (FNLMA), which allows First Nations to adopt a custom land code that replaces most of the reserve land provisions of the Indian Act in their community. This paper seeks to examine how First Nation communities have chosen to exercise their powers under this …
Pursuing A Reconciliatory Administrative Law: Aboriginal Consultation And The National Energy Board, Matthew J. Hodgson
Pursuing A Reconciliatory Administrative Law: Aboriginal Consultation And The National Energy Board, Matthew J. Hodgson
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Environmental assessment within the process of regulatory review is recognized as the preferred means for carrying out the duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal rights in administrative decisions over proposed resource development. Recent evidence suggests that integrating the duty to consult into National Energy Board (NEB) proceedings and subsuming the law of Aboriginal consultation under principles of administrative justice have not advanced the goal of reconciliation. This article considers whether the statutory mandate of the National Energy Board requires it to have sufficient regard to Aboriginal rights in a manner consistent with the adjudication of constitutional issues in administrative law. …
“The Lands…Belonged To Them, Once By The Indian Title, Twice For Having Defended Them…And Thrice For Having Built And Lived On Them”: The Law And Politics Of Métis Title, Karen Drake, Adam Gaudry
“The Lands…Belonged To Them, Once By The Indian Title, Twice For Having Defended Them…And Thrice For Having Built And Lived On Them”: The Law And Politics Of Métis Title, Karen Drake, Adam Gaudry
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
To predict what is on the horizon of the Métis legal landscape, we can look to jurisprudence on First Nations’ rights, given that Métis rights cases are typically ten to fifteen years behind those of First Nations. With the release of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Tsilhqot’in, the next big issue in Métis law may be Métis title. Scholars have doubted the ability of Métis to establish Aboriginal title in Canada for two reasons: first, Métis were too mobile, and second, Métis were too immobile. This paper critically analyzes these positions and argues that the case for Métis …
Process And Reconciliation: Integrating The Duty To Consult With Environmental Assessment, Neil Craik
Process And Reconciliation: Integrating The Duty To Consult With Environmental Assessment, Neil Craik
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
As the duty to consult Aboriginal peoples is operationalized within the frameworks of government decision making, the relevant agencies are increasingly turning to environmental assessment (EA) processes as one of the principal vehicles for carrying out those consultations. This article explores the practical and theoretical dimensions of using EA processes to implement the duty to consult and accommodate. The relationship between EA and the duty to consult has arisen in a number of cases and a clear picture is emerging of the steps that agencies conducting EAs must carry out in order to discharge their constitutional obligations to Aboriginal peoples. …
Equally Recognized? The Indigenous Peoples Of Newfoundland And Labrador, Sébastien Grammond
Equally Recognized? The Indigenous Peoples Of Newfoundland And Labrador, Sébastien Grammond
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In Canada, certain Indigenous groups are struggling to obtain official recognition of their status and rights. This is particularly so in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the authorities took the stance, when the province joined Canada in 1949, that no one would be legally considered Indigenous. This paper analyzes the claims of the Indigenous groups of that province, which have resulted, over the last thirty years, in various forms of official recognition. In particular, this article highlights how the concept of equality was used by these Indigenous groups to buttress their claims. Equality, in this context, was mainly conceived of as …
Making Matters Worse: The Safe Streets And Communities Act And The Ongoing Crisis Of Indigenous Over-Incarceration, Ryan Newell
Making Matters Worse: The Safe Streets And Communities Act And The Ongoing Crisis Of Indigenous Over-Incarceration, Ryan Newell
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The Safe Streets and Communities Act (SSCA), a recent and wide-reaching piece of the Conservative Party of Canada’s tough-on-crime agenda, will exacerbate the ongoing crisis of Indigenous over-incarceration. In this article, I review the extensive literature that addresses the causes of Indigenous over-representation in the Canadian criminal justice system before assessing the impact of R v Gladue, nearly fifteen years after the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision. I analyze how the SSCA will restrict courts’ resort to Gladue, thus resulting in the incarceration of increasing numbers of Indigenous people. I then develop one avenue of constitutional challenge to the SSCA’s …
From Judging Culture To Taxing "Indians": Tracing The Legal Discourse Of The "Indian Mode Of Life", Constance Macintosh
From Judging Culture To Taxing "Indians": Tracing The Legal Discourse Of The "Indian Mode Of Life", Constance Macintosh
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In this article I consider how judicial decision making characterizes Indigenous peoples' culture outside the context of determinations under section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982. I am concerned with how contemporary jurisprudence sometimes subjects Indigenous people to stereotyped tests of Aboriginality when they seek to exercise legislated rights. These common law tests of Aboriginality tend to turn on troubling oppositional logics, such as whether or not the Indigenous person engages in waged labour or commercial activities. These tests arose in historic legislation and policy that were premised on social evolutionary theory and were directed at determining whether an Indigenous …
The Vulnerability Of Indigenous Land Rights In Australia And Canada, Kent Mcneil
The Vulnerability Of Indigenous Land Rights In Australia And Canada, Kent Mcneil
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Not until the 1990s did the highest courts in Australia and Canada begin to address the colonial reality of the dispossession of the Indigenous peoples. In Australia, the High Court has held that the taking of Indigenous lands and creation of third party rights by the Crown resulted in extinguishment of Native title. In Canada, while not dealing directly with the issue of extinguishment, the Supreme Court has authorized infringement of Aboriginal land rights for a variety of purposes, including the creation of third party rights. This article examines the legal justifications for these conclusions and finds that they are …
When The Law Breaks Down: Aboriginal Peoples In Canada And Governmental Defiance Of The Rule Of Law, Andrew J. Orkin
When The Law Breaks Down: Aboriginal Peoples In Canada And Governmental Defiance Of The Rule Of Law, Andrew J. Orkin
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Comments on Aboriginal peoples, governmental defiance, and the breakdown of law and the balance between law's roles and limits.
Aboriginal Peoples And Mandatory Sentencing, Larry N. Chartrand
Aboriginal Peoples And Mandatory Sentencing, Larry N. Chartrand
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The author examines the impact of mandatory minimum sentencing on Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Emphasis is placed on the recently enacted mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for firearms offenses. The author argues that the enactment of such provisions are inconsistent with Parliament's objectives as reflected in section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code which requires sentencing judges to pay "particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders." In addition, the author explores preliminary arguments to support a finding that mandatory minimum sentences applied to Aboriginal offenders violate sections 12 and 15 of the Charter.
The Nullification Of Section 718.2(E): Aggravating Aboriginal Over-Representation In Canadian Prisons, Renee Pelletier
The Nullification Of Section 718.2(E): Aggravating Aboriginal Over-Representation In Canadian Prisons, Renee Pelletier
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article considers the disproportionate incarceration rate of Aboriginal offenders in Canadian prisons and the effectiveness of Parliament's attempts at alleviating this problem through the enactment of section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code. This article focuses primarily on two recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions-R. v. Gladue and R. v. Wells. It is argued that the Court's narrow view of systemic factors, the Imitation it places on section 718.2(e) through its discussion of serious offences, as well as a number of practical problems inherent in the framework provided by the Court, strip the provision of its remedial intent. The article …
Listening For A Change: The Courts And Oral Tradition, John Borrows
Listening For A Change: The Courts And Oral Tradition, John Borrows
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Aboriginal oral history is a valuable source of information about a people's past. It can constitute important evidence as proof of prior events, and/or it can shed light on meanings groups give to their past. Despite its value, however, oral tradition presents particular challenges of admissibility and interpretation because of its unique source and transmission. This article outlines and discuses these challenges and suggests various approaches to better understand the insights contained within aboriginal history.
Race And The Australian Constitution: From Federation To Reconciliation, George Williams
Race And The Australian Constitution: From Federation To Reconciliation, George Williams
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The framing of the Australian Constitution initiated a pattern of discrimination against Australia's Indigenous peoples. They were cast as outsiders to the nation brought about in 1901. This pattern was broken in 1967 by the deletion of the discriminatory provisions from the Constitution. Today, there is strong community support in Australia for the reconciliation process, which would involve recognition of Indigenous peoples as an integral and unique component of the Australian nation. However, this has yet to be translated into substantive legal outcomes. The author analyses the interaction of issues of race and the Australian Constitution as it has affected …
L'Intégration Des Valeurs Et Des Intérêts Autochtones Dans Le Discours Judiciaire Et Normatif Canadien, Andrée Lajoie, Eric Gélineau, Isabelle Duplessis, Guy Rocher
L'Intégration Des Valeurs Et Des Intérêts Autochtones Dans Le Discours Judiciaire Et Normatif Canadien, Andrée Lajoie, Eric Gélineau, Isabelle Duplessis, Guy Rocher
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article aims to define the degree to which values presented by groups representing Aboriginal interests in the Supreme Court of Canada have been integrated into the discourse of the Court and the decisions of political actors in Canada. The authors' analysis confirms the hypothesis that the Court, in contrast to its favourable treatment of private claims made by social minorities, is less receptive to the claims made by Aboriginals, a political minority whose claims are centered on political power and territory, issues that have been relegated to political negotiations. The significant difference between judicial and political decisionmakers concerning Aboriginal …
Left Out In The Cold: The Problem With Aboriginal Title Under Section 35(1) Of The Constitution Act, 1982 For Historically Nomadic Aboriginal Peoples, Brian J. Burke
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In R. v. Adams and Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada made statements to the effect that certain historically nomadic Aboriginal groups may be unable to make out a claim for Aboriginal title under section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982. In light of the anthropological evidence relating to the close connection some of these groups enjoyed with the lands they occupied, a serious injustice may arise if these groups are indeed barred from an Aboriginal title claim. The author attempts to correct this potential injustice by demonstrating that at least some of these historically nomadic groups …
The Onus Of Proof Of Aboriginal Title, Kent Mcneil
The Onus Of Proof Of Aboriginal Title, Kent Mcneil
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In the Delgamuukw decision, the Supreme Court of Canada clearly placed the onus on the Aboriginal nations to prove their title by showing occupation of lands at the time the Crown asserted sovereignty. In this article, it is argued that the common law could assist them in this respect. They should be able to rely on present or past possession to raise a presumption of Aboriginal title, and so shift the burden onto the Crown to prove its own title. Moreover, Aboriginal nations may be more successful if they bring an action for trespass or for recovery of possession of …
Aboriginal Forestry: Community Management As Opportunity And Imperative, Deborah Curran, Michael M'Gonigle
Aboriginal Forestry: Community Management As Opportunity And Imperative, Deborah Curran, Michael M'Gonigle
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In recognition that forests are one of their greatest resources, Aboriginal peoples are considering how altered tenure arrangements might uphold traditional values, including ecological integrity, while providing economic and employment opportunities. However, the federal and provincial forest management structures have historically precluded First Nations from helping to define, and participate in, the forest industry. The authors explore the legal and regulatory basis of forest management in Canada, and assess how it facilitates or impedes Aboriginal management of traditional areas. This is done through a legislative and policy analysis, and through the use of case studies from across Canada. The authors …
Sovereignty's Alchemy: An Analysis Of Delgamuukw V. British Columbia, John Borrows
Sovereignty's Alchemy: An Analysis Of Delgamuukw V. British Columbia, John Borrows
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its long-awaited judgment on the status of Aboriginal title under section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982. The decision was regarded as highly significant because it seemed to fundamentally alter the law of Aboriginal rights. This article suggests that while the case has somewhat positively changed the law to protect Aboriginal title, it has also simultaneously sustained a legal framework that undermines Aboriginal land rights. In particular, the decision's unreflective acceptance of Crown sovereignty places Aboriginal title in a subordinate position relative to other legal rights. This article examines …
Aboriginal Rights, Aboriginal Culture, And Protection, Gordon Christie
Aboriginal Rights, Aboriginal Culture, And Protection, Gordon Christie
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
There is a common perception that elements of mainstream society are disrespectful of Aboriginal culture. This article argues that developments in the law offer promise for the protection of Aboriginal "intellectual products," manifestations of Aboriginal culture reflecting their world-view. What Aboriginal peoples would like to see protected, however, are not so much words, pictures, or acts but rather the values, beliefs, and principles that give these meaning. Such, the author argues, are best protected by mechanisms internal to Aboriginal communities. Furthermore, the lack of such mechanisms would not justify the intrusion of Canadian law, but rather raises a call within …
What's Law Got To Do With It?: The Protection Of Aboriginal Title In Canada, Patrick Macklem
What's Law Got To Do With It?: The Protection Of Aboriginal Title In Canada, Patrick Macklem
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This essay presents and contrasts two narratives on the past and future of the law of Aboriginal title. The first narrative, drawn from the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, grounds the law of Aboriginal title in inter-societal norms that enabled the mutual coexistence of colonists and settlers in North America. It locates Aboriginal territorial dispossession in colonial policies and practices that failed to conform to the spirit of mutual coexistence, and calls on governments to provide Aboriginal people with lands and resources necessary for self-sufficiency. The counter-narrative describes the law of Aboriginal title as a relatively …
Aboriginal Governments And The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Kent Mcneil
Aboriginal Governments And The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Kent Mcneil
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Starting with the premise that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada have an inherent right of self-government which is constitutionally protected, this article analyzes the issue of whether Aboriginal governments exercising that right are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This issue is examined from a legal perspective based on textual analysis and common law principles. It is concluded that, as a matter of Canadian constitutional law, with the exception of the section 28 gender equality provision, the Charter does not apply to Aboriginal governments. This avoids imposition of the Charter generally on these governments by judicial decree, …
The Organic Constitution: Aboriginal Peoples And The Evolution Of Canada, Brian Slattery
The Organic Constitution: Aboriginal Peoples And The Evolution Of Canada, Brian Slattery
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Despite recent advances in the law of aboriginal rights, most Canadian lawyers still tacitly view the Constitution as the outgrowth of European legal traditions, transplanted into North America. This article identifies the main features of this model of the Constitution and proposes a more appropriate model to replace it, one that recognizes the Constitution's deep roots in Canadian history and traditions, and acknowledges the distinctive contributions of Aboriginal peoples and their long-standing relations with the Crown.
Relations Of Force And Relations Of Justice: The Emergence Of Normative Community Between Colonists And Aboriginal Peoples, Jeremy Webber
Relations Of Force And Relations Of Justice: The Emergence Of Normative Community Between Colonists And Aboriginal Peoples, Jeremy Webber
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This paper argues that Aboriginal rights are best understood as the product of cross-cultural interaction-not, as is usually supposed, the result of some antecedent body of law (English, international, or Aboriginal). Aboriginal rights are therefore intercommunal in origin. The paper does describe the process by which this body of law emerged, but its primary vocation is theoretical, concerned with the following questions: How can a normative community emerge in the presence of profound cultural divisions? How can relations of justice emerge in a context dominated by power and coercion? How does moral reasoning draw upon the factual relations of the …
Mohegan Indians V. Connecticut (1705-1773) And The Legal Status Of Aboriginal Customary Laws And Government In British North America, Mark D. Walters
Mohegan Indians V. Connecticut (1705-1773) And The Legal Status Of Aboriginal Customary Laws And Government In British North America, Mark D. Walters
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article examines the eighteenth century case of Mohegan Indians v. Connecticut in order to determine its significance for arguments about the legal status of Aboriginal customary law and government in British North America. The article concludes that the Mohegan case confirms that in certain circumstances native nations on reserved lands in British colonies were subject, not to colonial jurisdictions established for settlers, but to their own traditional customs and institutions. It also concludes that the case is less clear than some recent commentators have suggested about whether British law recognized such nations as having rights of sovereignty.
Provincial Fiduciary Obligations To First Nations: The Nexus Between Governmental Power And Responsibility, Leonard I. Rotman
Provincial Fiduciary Obligations To First Nations: The Nexus Between Governmental Power And Responsibility, Leonard I. Rotman
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The Canadian Crown's fiduciary duty to First Nations is entrenched in Canadian Aboriginal rights jurisprudence. More than ten years after the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Guerin, however, yet to be ascertained are the various emanations of the Crown bound by that duty. This paper argues that both federal and provincial Crowns are properly bound by fiduciary obligations to First Nations. It also suggests that the basis of this assertion may be found in existing jurisprudence, the Canadian Constitution, the spirit and intent of Indian treaties, and in Aboriginal understandings of "the Crown."
A Genealogy Of Law: Inherent Sovereignty And First Nations Self-Government, John J. Borrows
A Genealogy Of Law: Inherent Sovereignty And First Nations Self-Government, John J. Borrows
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
First Nations self-government in Canada has often been regarded as extinguished or delegated from the British Crown or the Canadian federal government. First Nations self-government among the Chippewas of the Nawash Band in southern Ontario has not been extinguished or delegated, but continues to exist as an inherent exercise of community sovereignty. The idea of existing Aboriginal self-government in modern-day Ontario contrasts with many prevailing notions about Native society in Canada today. The inherent and unextinguished nature of self-government among the Nawash Band is demonstrated by examining the events of the author's ancestors and community in their interactions with foreign …
Child Welfare Law, "Best Interests Of The Child" Ideology, And First Nations, Marlee Kline
Child Welfare Law, "Best Interests Of The Child" Ideology, And First Nations, Marlee Kline
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Liberalism has structured legal discourse such that racism is most often unintended and rarely explicit. To understand how and why law has an oppressive and discriminatory impact on First Nations and other racialized groups in Canadian society, one must look at some of its more subtle processes and, in particular, its ideological form. The goal of this article is to provide insight into the origins and operation of "best interests of the child" ideology and to illustrate how it structures and constrains judicial decision making in the context of First Nations child welfare. Best interests ideology serves to portray the …
Aboriginal Sovereignty And Imperial Claims, Brian Slattery
Aboriginal Sovereignty And Imperial Claims, Brian Slattery
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
It is commonly assumed that Indigenous American nations had neither sovereignty in international law nor title to their territories when Europeans first arrived; North America was legally vacant and European powers could gain title to it simply by discovery, symbolic acts, occupation, or treaties among themselves. It follows, on this view, that current Indigenous claims to internal sovereignty or a "third order of government" have no historical basis. This paper argues that this viewpoint is misguided and cannot be justified either by reference to positive international law or basic principles of justice. The author's view is that Indigenous American nations …