Canada’s courts create uncertainty on aboriginal rights – The Battlefords News
October 6, 2015
Court decisions are undermining the certainty dividend that is supposed to attach to modern land claims agreements
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The past year has seen a lot of Canadians paying attention to aboriginal land rights. From opposition by aboriginal groups to proposed pipeline developments in their traditional territories, to a recent declaration of aboriginal title in British Columbia, to ongoing disputes over modern treaty implementation, aboriginal land rights have come to occupy an increasingly prominent place in public policy discussion in this country.
When the issue of legal uncertainty relating to aboriginal land rights is raised, the solution most often proposed is for governments to engage in negotiations with aboriginal groups aimed at comprehensive land claims settlements. Yet a recent report we authored for the Fraser Institute, focusing on modern land claims agreements in Yukon, indicates that the certainty dividend from such agreements can prove illusory, particularly if courts do not prioritize legal certainty in their decision-making.
