Aboriginal Law, Fourth Edition

Thomas Isaac is a nationally recognized authority in the area of Aboriginal law and the author of many books and articles, including three earlier editions of Aboriginal Law and Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in the Maritimes: The Marshall Decision and Beyond. He advises industry and governments across Canada on Aboriginal issues, was chief treaty negotiator for the British Columbia government, and assistant deputy minister responsible for creating Nunavut for the Northwest Territories government. He has appeared before, and his published work has been cited with approval by, numerous courts across Canada. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in both political science and law. He practices law with Cassels Brock, and is a member of the bars of British Columbia, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon. In 2016, Isaac was appointed Ministerial Special Representative (MSR) to the Northwest Territories.

• PREFACEChapter One: Aboriginal Rights 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1.2 SECTION 35 1.2.1 History 1.2.2 Subsection 35(1) 1.2.3 Subsection 35(2) – Aboriginal Peoples of Canada 1.2.4 Subsection 35(3) – Modern Treaty Rights and Land Claims Agreements 1.3 ABORIGINAL RIGHTS 1.3.1 Definition 1.3.2 Establishing an Aboriginal Right – The Van der Peet Test 1.3.3 Proof and Evidentiary Issues 1.3.4 Extinguishment 1.3.5 Infringement – 1.3.5.2 Unreasonable Limitation – 1.3.5.3 Undue Hardship – 1.3.5.4 Preferred Means 1.3.6 Justification of Infringement – 1.3.6.2 Compelling and Substantial Objective – 1.3.6.3 Honour of the Crown 1.4 SECTION 25, CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 1.5 INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE RIGHTS 1.6 SELF GOVERNMENT – 1.6.1.1 R. v. Pamajewon – 1.6.1.2 Campbell v. B.C. – 1.6.1.3 Mitchell v. Canada (Min. of National Revenue) 1.6.2 Implementing Self-Government – 1.6.2.1 Dogrib Treaty 11 Council – 1.6.2.2 Mohawks of Kanesatake – 1.6.2.3 Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act – 1.6.2.4 Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act – 1.6.2.5 Yukon Territory – 1.6.2.6 Westbank First Nation Self-Government Act 1.6.3 Indian Act – 1.6.3.1 Legal Status of Indian Band Councils 1.7 INTERNATIONAL LAW 1.7.1 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Chapter Two: Aboriginal Title 2.1 INTRODUCTION 2.2 HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF ABORIGINAL TITLE 2.2.1 Royal Proclamation of 1763 2.2.2 Early United States Case Law 2.2.3 Pre-Delgamuukw Canadian Case Law 2.3 ABORIGINAL TITLE 2.3.1 Delgamuukw (1997) and Marshall/Bernard (2005) 2.3.2 Nature and Scope of Aboriginal Title – 2.3.2.1 General Features – 2.3.2.2 The Content of Aboriginal Title—Exclusive, but Limited Use 2.3.3 Establishing Aboriginal Title – 2.3.3.1 Pre-Sovereignty, Continuous, and Exclusive Occupation – 2.3.3.2 Negotiated Solutions 2.3.4 Justifying Infringements of Aboriginal Title 2.3.5 Extinguishing Aboriginal Title 2.3.6 Conclusion 2.4 FEE SIMPLE TITLE AND ABORIGINAL TITLE 2.5 REMEDIES 2.5.1 Crown Land Remedies – 2.5.2 Fee Simple Land Remedies Chapter Three: Treaty Rights — Historic 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 TREATIES GENERALLY – 3.2.1.1 Definition of a Treaty – 3.2.1.2 Interpretation – 3.2.1.3 Evidence – 3.2.1.4 Geographic Limitations on Treaty Rights – 3.2.1.5 Visible, Incompatible Use – 3.2.1.6 Treaty Beneficiaries 3.2.2 Treaty Rights – 3.2.2.1 Section 88, Indian Act – Application of Provincial Laws – 3.2.2.2 Extinguishment – 3.2.2.3 Infringement – 3.2.2.4 Justification of Infringement – 3.2.2.5 Crown's Duty to Consult and Treaty Rights – 3.2.2.6 Good Faith Negotiations – 3.2.2.7 Interlocutory Injunctions 3.2.3 Treaty Rights Claims – 3.2.3.1 Specific Land Claims – 3.2.3.2 Treaty Land Entitlement 3.2.4 Judicial Decisions Regarding Treaty Rights – 3.2.4.1 Pre-1982 Treaty Rights Decisions – 3.2.4.2 Post-1982 Treaty Rights Decisions 3.2.5 Particular Treaties – 3.2.5.1 Maritime Peace and Friendship Treaties – 3.2.5.2 Pre-Confederation Treaties – 3.2.5.3 Post-Confederation Treaties Chapter Four: Modern Treaties and Land Claims Agreements 4.1 INTRODUCTION 4.2 CANADA'S COMPREHENSIVE LAND CLAIMS POLICY 4.3 BRITISH COLUMBIA TREATY COMMISSION PROCESS 4.4 INTERPRETING MODERN TREATIES 4.4.1 Government's Desire for Certainty 4.5 SPECIFIC CLAIM AGREEMENTS AND MODERN TREATIES OR COMPREHENSIVE LAND CLAIM AGREEMENTS 4.5.1 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (1975) 4.5.2 Northeastern Quebec Agreement (1978) 4.5.3 Inuvialuit Final Agreement (1984) 4.5.4 Gwich'in Final Agreement (1992) 4.5.5 Sahtu Dene and Métis Land Claim Agreement (1993) 4.5.6 Tlicho Agreement (2003) 4.5.7 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (1993) 4.5.8 Council for Yukon Indians Umbrella Final Agreement (1993) 4.5.9 Nisga'a Final Agreement (1999) 4.5.10 Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (2003) 4.5.11 Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement (2008) 4.5.12 Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement (2009) 4.5.13 Maa-nulth First Nations Final Agreement (2011) 4.5.14 Other Claims Chapter Five: Federal Authority 5.1 SUBSECTION 91(24), CONSTITUTION ACT, 1867 5.2 "INDIANS" AND "ABORIGINAL PEOPLES" 5.3 "LANDS RESERVED FOR THE INDIANS" 5.4 SECTION 35 OF THE CONSTITUTION ACT, 1982 AND ITS EFFECT ON FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY 5.5 INDIAN ACT 5.5.1 General 5.5.2 The Indian Act and Reserve Lands 5.5.3 Discrimination under the Indian Act 5.6 OTHER FEDERAL LEGISLATION 5.6.1 First Nations Land Management Act – 5.6.1.1 Land Transactions under the FNLMA 5.7 FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP 5.7.1 Introduction 5.7.2 Early Case Law – 5.7.2.1 Guerin v. The Queen (1984) 5.7.3 Other Fiduciary-Related Case Law 5.7.4 Current Law – 5.7.4.1 Wewaykum Indian Band v. Canada (2002) – 5.7.4.2 Manitoba Métis Federation Inc. v. Canada (AG) et al. (2010) Chapter Six: Indian Reserve Land and Related Tax Matters 6.1 INTRODUCTION 6.2 Creation of Reserves – 6.2.1 Application of Laws on Reserves 6.3 INDIAN BAND INTERESTS IN RESERVES 6.3.1 Crown Duties in Relation to Reserves 6.4 SURFACE AND SUBSURFACE RIGHTS 6.4.1 Mining 6.4.2 Timber 6.4.3 Oil and Gas 6.5 WATER RIGHTS 6.6 GRANTING INTERESTS IN, AND DISPOSITION OF, RESERVES 6.6.1 Expropriation 6.6.2 Osoyoos Indian Band v. Oliver (Town) (2001) 6.6.3 Permits or Leases 6.6.4 Surrenders and Designations 6.6.5 Individual Possession 6.7 SECURITY ON RESERVES 6.8 TAXATION AND INDIAN RESERVE LAND 6.8.1 Indian Tax Exemption – Section 87, Indian Act 6.8.2 R. v. Williams (1992) – Connecting Factors Test 6.8.3 Application of Williams 6.8.4 Paramount Location Test 6.8.5 GST and Other Federal Taxes 6.9 INDIAN BAND TAXATION AUTHORITY 6.10 SUBSECTION 90(1), INDIAN ACT 6.11 PROVINCIAL TAXES 6.12 TREATIES AND LAND CLAIMS AGREEMENTS Chapter Seven: Provincial and Territorial Authority 7.1 INTRODUCTION 7.2 PROVINCIAL AUTHORITY 7.2.1 Indian Reserves are not Federal Enclaves 7.2.2 Valid Provincial Legislation 7.2.3 Laws of General Application – No "Singling Out" 7.2.4 "ex proprio vigore" – "Indianness" 7.3 SECTION 88, INDIAN ACT 7.3.1 Paramountcy 7.3.2 Treaties 7.4 APPLICATION OF PROVINCIAL LAWS TO TREATY RIGHTS 7.5 APPLICATION OF PROVINCIAL LAWS TO ABORIGINAL RIGHTS 7.6 EXTINGUISHMENT 7.7 NATURAL RESOURCES TRANSFER AGREEMENTS (1930) 7.8 PROVINCIAL ADJUDICATIVE BODIES 7.9 MUNICIPALITIES 7.10 TERRITORIAL AUTHORITY Chapter Eight: The Crown's Duty to Consult Aboriginal Peoples 8.1 INTRODUCTION 8.1.1 Haida Nation v. B.C. (2004) 8.1.2 Taku River Tlingit v. B.C. (Project Assessment Director) (2004) 8.1.3 Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (2005) 8.1.4 Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v. Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (2010) 8.1.5 Beckman v. Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation (2010) 8.1.6 Sources of Consultation 8.2 HONOUR OF THE CROWN 8.2.1 Introduction 8.2.2 Historical Use in Canada 8.2.3 Modern Development 315 8.3 THE CROWN'S DUTY TO CONSULT 8.3.1 Development of Consultation in Sparrow and Delgamuukw 8.3.2 Duty Rests with the Crown 8.3.3 What is the "Crown" for the Purposes of the Duty? – 8.3.3.1 Regulatory Boards and Tribunals – 8.3.3.2 Municipal Governments 8.3.4 Triggering the Duty 8.3.5 Content, Scope and Spectrum of the Duty 8.3.6 To Whom is the Duty Owed? – 8.3.6.1 Métis 8.3.7 The Duty of Fairness 8.3.8 Legal Standard of Review for Consultation 8.3.9 The Duties of Aboriginal Peoples Regarding Consultation 8.3.10 Accommodation 8.3.11 Remedies – 8.3.11.1 Injunctive Relief 8.3.11.2 Damages 8.4 INDUSTRY AND THIRD PARTIES 8.4.1 Delegation of Consultation to Third Parties 8.4.2 The Duty to Consult with Respect to Private Property 8.5 RECONCILIATION 8.5.1 Balancing of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Interests 8.6 CONCLUSION Chapter Nine: Inuit and Métis Rights 9.1 INUIT 9.2 MÉTIS 9.2.1 Who is a Métis? 384 – 9.2.1.1 Métis for Purposes of Section 35 – 9.2.1.2 R. v. Powley (2003) – 9.2.1.3 Subsection 91(24), Constitution Act, 1867 9.2.2 Métis Rights – 9.2.2.1 Métis Aboriginal Rights 9.2.3 Aboriginal Title and the Métis – 9.2.3.2 Historic Occupation – 9.2.3.3 Continuous Occupation – 9.2.3.4 Exclusive Occupation 9.2.4 Métis Land Claims Based on Legislative Instruments – 9.2.4.1 Manitoba Act and Dominion Lands Act – 9.2.4.2 Manitoba Métis Federation Inc. v. Canada (A.G.) (2007) – 9.2.4.3 Manitoba Métis Federation Inc. v. Canada (A.G.) (2010) – Manitoba Court of Appeal – 9.2.4.4 Métis Land Claims Outside of Manitoba 9.2.5 The Crown's Duty to Consult Métis Peoples 9.2.6 Federal Developments 9.2.7 Provincial and Territorial Developments – 9.2.7.1 British Columbia – 9.2.7.2 Alberta – 9.2.7.3 Saskatchewan – 9.2.7.4 Manitoba – 9.2.7.5 Ontario – 9.2.7.6 Quebec and the Maritimes – 9.2.7.7 Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory MAPS: Comprehensive Land Claim Agreements and Modern Treaties Historical Indian Treaties in Canada INDEX INDEX TO SIGNIFICANT CASES