Editor’s Note: The author’s analysis of Renvoi à la Cour d'appel du Québec relatif à la Loi concernant les enfants, les jeunes et les familles des Premières Nations, des Inuits et des Métis, 2022 QCCA 185 [QCCA Reference] is based on an unofficial English translation of the opinion of the Quebec Court of Appeal (“QCCA” […]
Despite the uncertainties brought on by 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC” or “the Court”) concluded another noteworthy year. The Court began to slowly welcome back members of the public on a limited in-person basis after two long years of virtual hearings. Additionally, notwithstanding global disruptions like the war in Ukraine or the internal […]
“No matter where we are in society, no matter how far we move up, we always have to remember where we come from.” - Michelle O’Bonsawin (The Globe and Mail, August 2022) Introduction On September 1st, 2022, Michelle O’Bonsawin was sworn into office at the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”). Justice O’Bonsawin was appointed by […]
Introduction On April 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted an application for leave in the case of Cindy Dickson v Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, 2021 YKCA 5 [Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation]. The case decided at the Yukon Court of Appeal (“YCA”) in July 2021 is one of a few that has […]
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 — […]
Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada by Harold R. Johnson McClelland & Stewart, 160 pages, $24.75 Peace and Good Order is part autobiographical tale of Harold R. Johnson’s life as an Indigenous Crown prosecutor and part scathing indictment of Canada’s criminal justice system. It is a timely and provocative read […]