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Indigenous - General. Canada v. Witchekan Lake First Nation
In Canada v. Witchekan Lake First Nation (Fed CA, 2023) the Federal Court of Appeal states the legal history of Canada and the indigenous people succinctly:[1] The failure of Canada to fully honour the terms of the historic treaties entered into with Indigenous Canadians has been well documented in decisions of this Court and others (Canada v. Jim Shot Both Sides, 2022 FCA 20, 468 D.L.R. (4th) 98, leave to appeal to SCC granted, 40153 (2 February 2023); Pasqua First Nation v. Canada (Attorney General), 2016 FCA 133, [2017] 3 F.C.R. 3 [Peigan 1]; Canada v. Long Plain First Nation, 2015 FCA 177, 388 D.L.R. (4th) 209 [Long Plain]; Canada v. Brokenhead First Nation, 2011 FCA 148, 419 N.R. 289; Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage), 2005 SCC 69, [2005] 3 S.C.R. 388; George Gordon First Nation v. Saskatchewan, 2022 SKCA 41, 2022 CarswellSask 136 (WL Can), leave to appeal to SCC refused, 40184 (16 March 2023) [George Gordon]; Goodswimmer v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 ABCA 365, 418 D.L.R. (4th) 157, leave to appeal to SCC refused, 37899 (5 July 2018) [Goodswimmer]). For reasons ranging from indifference and error, to neglect and deceit, treaty commitments with respect to land entitlement were not always fully implemented. Treaties No. 4, 6 and 10 are cases in point. . R. v. Desautel
In R. v. Desautel (SCC, 2021) the Supreme Court of Canada held that a native, living now in the US but whose tribe had ancestral ties to a part of Canada, was able to advance successfully the Canadian Constitution in defence of a BC Wildlife Act charge. The case is a useful examination of modern indigenous law [paras 18-93].
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