Time is of the Essence: Treaty Rights and Cumulative Impacts in Yahey v. British Columbia – First Peoples Law
July 8, 2021
Last week the BC Supreme Court released its long-awaited decision in the Blueberry River First Nations’ treaty infringement case.
The decision, Yahey v. British Columbia, comes at the end of a month which saw the discovery of the unmarked graves of hundreds of Indigenous children, the dismantling of racist historical monuments and calls to designate Canada Day a national day of mourning.
Like these events, the Court’s decision in Yahey should be taken as a call to action. Canadian governments must take immediate, concrete steps to address the legacy and ongoing reality of colonization, including by honouring and upholding the treaties on which much of Canada is based.
