The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) has dismissed the appeal in Saskatchewan (Environment) v Métis Nation, 2025 SCC 4 [Métis Nation]. A unanimous court found that proceedings for judicial review which raise similar issues to ongoing or past litigation do not inherently amount to an abuse of process. In doing so, the SCC has clarified the extent to […]
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “The Court”) has modified the threshold of “impecuniosity” where a First Nations government seeks advance cost awards in litigation against the federal or provincial governments. In the unanimous decision of Anderson v Alberta, 2022 SCC 6 [Anderson], the Court determined that a First Nations government which has access […]
In 1929, the creation of electrical power for Winnipeg, Manitoba resulted in the destruction of land, livelihood and community for a nearby Indigenous group. Nearly a century later, this government decision was the subject of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling. In Southwind v Canada, 2021 SCC 28 [Southwind], the question of equitable compensation — […]
On April 23, 2021, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada held in R v Desautel, 2021 SCC 17 [Desautel] that “the aboriginal peoples of Canada,” who hold rights under s 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 [Constitution], are the modern successors of those Aboriginal societies that occupied lands now referred to as Canada […]
In the last three decades, Indigenous nations have increasingly chosen to address systemic injustices facing their communities through litigation. However, as many Aboriginal law cases are complex and novel in nature, Indigenous nations had to bear the associated legal fees as the cases moved through Canadian courts. Anderson v Alberta (Attorney General), 2020 ABCA 238 […]
The judiciary often hears aboriginal law cases in the context of a dispute with the Crown. Yet consider what would happen if the dispute was multi-jurisdictional: Could one province’s judiciary make binding orders and decisions on another province’s jurisdiction? Would the answer shift depending on access to justice and proportionality concerns? The Supreme Court of […]
The recent decision Mikisew Cree First Nation v Canada (Governor General in Council), 2018 SCC 40 divided the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"), resulting in an unclear way forward for Indigenous communities seeking to protect their Aboriginal and treaty rights during the legislative process. The case arises from the Mikisew Cree Nation’s application for judicial review of […]
Author’s Note: The author would like to thank Professors Benjamin Berger, Signa Daum Shanks, and Bruce Ryder for their generous and thoughtful contributions, without which this post would not have been possible. This is the second part of a two-part post. Part I offered some insight into the scope and identity of the McLachlin Court, as […]
On December 1, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun v Yukon, 2017 SCC 58 [Yukon], an important decision concerning the interpretation of modern treaties and, in particular, the Crown’s obligations in land use planning processes established by Yukon Final Agreements. Although this case does not change the […]
