Jim Reynolds – författare

This book tells the story of a First Nation's single-minded quest for justice. In 1958, the federal government leased a third of the small Musqueam Reserve in Vancouver to an exclusive golf club at far below market value. When the band members discovered this in 1970, they initiated legal action. Their tenacity led to the 1984 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Guerin v. The Queen.In Guerin, the Court held that the government has a fiduciary duty towards Indigenous peoples – an obligation to act in their best interests. This landmark decision is explored in this book, written by an Aboriginal rights lawyer who served as one of the legal counsel for the Musqueam and argued on their behalf all the way to the highest court. Jim Reynolds provides an in-depth analysis, considering the context, the case and decision, and the major impact that Guerin had on Canadian law, politics, and society.The Guerin case changed the relationship between governments and Indigenous peoples from one of wardship to one based on legal rights. It was a seismic decision with implications that resonate today, not only in Canada but also in other Commonwealth countries.

This book tells the story of a First Nation's single-minded quest for justice. In 1958, the federal government leased a third of the small Musqueam Reserve in Vancouver to an exclusive golf club at far below market value. When the band members discovered this in 1970, they initiated legal action. Their tenacity led to the 1984 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Guerin v. The Queen.In Guerin, the Court held that the government has a fiduciary duty towards Indigenous peoples – an obligation to act in their best interests. This landmark decision is explored in this book, written by an Aboriginal rights lawyer who served as one of the legal counsel for the Musqueam and argued on their behalf all the way to the highest court. Jim Reynolds provides an in-depth analysis, considering the context, the case and decision, and the major impact that Guerin had on Canadian law, politics, and society.The Guerin case changed the relationship between governments and Indigenous peoples from one of wardship to one based on legal rights. It was a seismic decision with implications that resonate today, not only in Canada but also in other Commonwealth countries.

Can Canada claim to be a just society for Indigenous peoples? To answer this question, and as part of the process of reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission urged a better understanding of Aboriginal law for all Canadians. Aboriginal Peoples and the Law responds to that call, introducing readers with or without a legal background to modern Aboriginal law and outlining significant cases and decisions in straightforward, non-technical language. Jim Reynolds provides the historical context needed to understand relations between Indigenous peoples and settlers and explains key topics such as sovereignty, fiduciary duties, the honour of the Crown, Aboriginal rights and title, treaties, the duty to consult, Indigenous laws, and international law. This critical analysis of the current state of the law makes the case that rather than leaving the judiciary to sort out what are essentially political issues, Canadian politicians need to take responsibility for this crucial aspect of building a just society.

Colonialism endures in Canada today. Dismantling it requires an understanding of how colonialism operated across the British Empire and why Canada's colonial experience was unique.Whereas colonies such as India were ruled through despotism and violence, Canada's white settler population governed itself while oppressing the Indigenous peoples whose lands they were on. Canada and Colonialism shows that Canadians' support for colonial rule – both at home and abroad – is the reason colonialism remains entrenched in Canadian law and society today.Author Jim Reynolds presents a truly compelling account of Canada's colonial coming of age and its impacts on Indigenous peoples, including the settler-led internal colonialism behind the Indian Act and those who enforced it. As one of the nation's leading experts in Aboriginal law, Reynolds provides a vital accounting of the historical underpinnings and contemporary challenges the nation must address to reconcile with Indigenous peoples and move toward decolonization.

In the 1950s, Indian Affairs concealed the lease terms of more than one-third of the Musqueam's reserve land to the Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club in Vancouver, BC. Justice for the Musqueam was finally achieved in 1984 with the release of Guerin v. the Queen, where the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that Canada has a duty to act in the best interests of Aboriginal peoples. This book tells the story of the government's breach of that duty, the impact of the Court's decision on the development of Aboriginal law and the law of fiduciary obligations. Discussion of recent decisions in Haida and Taku River, and a comparison to laws in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand is also included.