Posts by Yvonne
Tour de Cure Team Feature – Rob Miller
Next up on our team features is MT+Co.‘s CEO, Rob Miller! Thank you, Rob, for telling us why you ride! Q: Why are you riding in Tour de Cure? For me, fighting cancer is personal – it has touched both my family and my friends in profound ways. In my interactions with the disease, I’ve…
Read MoreTour de Cure Team Feature – Merle Alexander
This week we are thrilled to introduce another MT+Co. team rider, Merle Alexander! Thank you for chatting with us about your Tour de Cure journey. Q: Why are you riding in Tour de Cure? “One of my Mom’s has stage 4 colorectal cancer and I want her and other Indigenous relatives to have the best…
Read MoreTour de Cure Team Feature – Lou Poskitt
Over the next few weeks, we are excited to introduce MT+Co.’s teammates for the upcoming Tour de Cure. Each rider must raise a minimum of $2,500 and will ride 50, 100, or 160 kilometers for the cause. First up is Lou Poskitt! Why are you riding in the Tour de Cure? “The Tour de Cure…
Read MoreCredit Where Credit is Due – Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System
It’s an exciting time – the Canadian government is making proactive strides toward reducing greenhouse gases and we are here to get you up to speed! Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System is now operational and stands to benefit foresters, farmers, Indigenous communities, and all other people who engage in projects to reduce greenhouse gases.…
Read MoreTwo steps forward one step back: Can the Charter be used as a sword to silence Indigenous perspectives in the classroom?
Last week, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) heard the appeal of Servatius v. Alberni School District No. 70, 2020 BCSC 15, a provocative Charter case concerning the interplay between religious freedoms and Indigenous cultural safety in public schools. Our litigation group proudly represented the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (“NTC”) in its intervention in the appeal. From NTC’s…
Read MoreOn Deviations From Declarations: The SCC Gets Decisive on Stare Decisis
When a trial judge rules that a law is unconstitutional, who is bound by that decision? In R v Sullivan, 2022 SCC 19, the SCC has made it crystal clear: these declarations are ordinary rulings of law, subject to ordinary rules of stare decisis. As a bonus, the Court clarified the Spruce Mills test. The…
Read MoreSettling Up for Illegal Settlement – Canada to Compensate T’exelcemc for Occupation of Village Lands
More than 150 years after being dispossessed of their lands by incoming settlers, and after almost three decades of legal disputes, T’exelcemc, or Williams Lake First Nation (“WLFN”), has reached a tentative agreement with the federal government to receive $135M in compensation for the losses they suffered as a result of Canada’s failure to protect…
Read MoreThe Reconciliation Ball is in Your Court, AG: BC’s Directives on Civil Litigation involving Indigenous Peoples
Litigation is messy—no one knows this better than Indigenous communities and individuals who have spent countless decades and dollars trying to prove the rights and title they’ve held since time immemorial. And while “[c]ourts are a necessary pillar in the process of reconciliation”,[1] reconciliation is almost always better achieved by what doesn’t happen in the…
Read MoreWhat’s the Plan, Stan? – BC Releases the DRIPA Action Plan
On November 28, 2019, through the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (“DRIPA”), British Columbia formally adopted the standards outlined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”). Section 4 of DRIPA mandates British Columbia “prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of [UNDRIP].” On March 30, 2022, British Columbia announced the DRIPA Action…
Read More“The Dog Ate My Trial Brief” – Why Stricter Timelines May Be Necessary in Civil Lawsuits
In 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada in R v. Jordan established stricter timelines for criminal trials, stating that “Canadians … rightly expect a system that can deliver quality justice in a reasonably efficient and timely manner.” The decision improved delays in the criminal justice system, but corresponding changes in the civil system have yet to be…
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