Recent Developments in Aboriginal Law – Lexpert

Many significant developments in Aboriginal law took place in 2021 including Southwind v. Canada, in which the Supreme Court of Canada decided compensation due to flooding in Lac Seul First Nation’s reserve in 1929 by a hydro dam

There were many significant developments in Aboriginal law for the year 2021. Here are some highlights:

• The Supreme Court of Canada decided the case Southwind v. Canada, concerning how to compensate First Nations for historic breaches of fiduciary duty. That case is explained in detail below.
• The Supreme Court of Canada decided R v. Desautel. That case involved an Indigenous person, who was a US citizen and resident and was a descendant of a group whose traditional territory straddled the Canada/US border. That group had moved to the US in about 1870. The Court ruled that, on these facts, Desautel was a member of one of the “Aboriginal peoples of Canada” within the meaning of the Constitution Act, 1982, and that he had Aboriginal hunting rights in Canada. On the facts, the Court did not find it necessary to decide whether it was possible for an Aboriginal right to be lost or abandoned by non-use, nor whether an Aboriginal harvesting right held by a non-resident of Canada implied an Aboriginal right to cross the border.

Read More: https://www.lexpert.ca/legal-insights/recent-developments-in-aboriginal-law/364264