Aboriginals: Supreme Court ruling will have national implications … – Canadian Mining Journal
2014-07-14
VANCOUVER—The recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling, granting a group of six B.C. First Nations title to a large piece of land outside their reserves, will have national implications and will likely stunt economic development across Canada, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
The study, A Real Game Changer, breaks down the ruling, which granted more than 1,700 square kilometres of land in B.C.’s Interior to the Tsilhqot’in Nation.
“This Court ruling all but guarantees increased uncertainty for natural resource projects in Canada and a potential increase in cost for economic development across the country. In provinces like British Columbia, future natural resource projects may be scuttled, and existing projects may be halted or shut down,” said Ravina Bains, study author and associate director of Aboriginal policy studies at the Fraser Institute.
This is the first time in Canadian history that a declaration of Aboriginal title (the right to land or territory) has been recognized outside an Indian reserve.
