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 more »
+ Read MoreLitigation 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 more »
+ Read MoreOn 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 »
+ Read MoreIn 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… Read more »
+ Read MoreThe Court of Appeal for Québec has stymied the federal government’s efforts to respond to the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child and youth protection system. On February 10, 2022, the Court held that key sections of the federal government’s Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (the “Act”) were… Read more »
+ Read MoreCase in Brief: Teal Cedar Products Ltd v Rainforest Flying Squad, 2022 BCCA 26 The injunction against protestors at Fairy Creek has been extended until September 2022. In a unanimous decision made January 26th, the BC Court of Appeal (“BCCA”) overturned the BC Supreme Court’s (“BCSC”) refusal to extend an interlocutory civil injunction that protected… Read more »
+ Read MoreCase in Brief: Sutter Hill Management Corporation v Mpire Capital Corporation, 2022 BCCA 13 How does one interpret a clause that requires “commercially reasonable best efforts”? In the recent decision of Sutter Hill Management Corporation v Mpire Capital Corporation, 2022 BCCA 13, the BCCA has spoken loud and clear: it all depends on the context…. Read more »
+ Read MoreA Case Review: Thomas and Saik’uz First Nation v Rio Tinto Alcan Inc, 2022 BCSC 15 Following a decades-long public dispute and eleven years of litigation, the fight for the Nechako River watershed may, at last, be approaching an end. On January 7, 2022, Justice Kent for the BC Supreme Court (“BCSC”) in Thomas and… Read more »
+ Read MoreLate last year the BC Government introduced two important changes to British Columbia’s laws: 1) amending the Human Rights Code to specifically list “Indigenous identity” as a protected ground against discriminatory conduct; and 2) amending the Interpretation Act to make it clear that all BC laws uphold and do not diminish the rights of Indigenous… Read more »
+ Read MoreEffective January 1, 2022, BC workers are now entitled to 5 paid sick days per year thanks to a recent change to the BC Employment Standards Act (“ESA”). In order to qualify, employees must have been employed for at least 90 days, and the employee must not fall into one of the categories of employees… Read more »
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