60 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
JUNE 2016
FEATURE
ACROSS CANADA,
the long neglect of Aboriginal issues is now confounding the nation's eco-
nomic development as never before.
From Plan Nord in Québec and the Ring of Fire in Ontario, to the oil sands in Alberta, liquefied
natural gas (LNG) and hydro in British Columbia and pipelines coast to coast, big projects and legal
precedents have given Aboriginal groups the leverage to insist on resolving land claims and other is-
sues that have festered for generations.
In its November 2015 report, Economic Development in Jeopardy? the business-focused Fraser In-
stitute notes that, in British Columbia, overlapping Aboriginal land claims account for more than
100 per cent of the territory of the province. Fraser says the recent Stellat'en First Nation v. Rio Tinto
decision, enabling legal actions against private parties for damages on Aboriginal title claims, "has
the potential to create an environment of heightened uncertainty for all existing and future economic
development projects. ..."
Lawyers with extensive expertise in the field say industry should continue to drive consultations
and press forward into commercial deal-making for individual projects. Direct, good-faith negotia-
tions between industry and Aboriginal groups, they say, can frequently avoid protracted regulatory
and court battles. But those same experts insist that federal and provincial governments have an ines-
capable constitutional duty to become fully engaged in negotiations, both for individual projects and
in finding the way to a broader Canadian reconciliation with indigenous peoples.
"is is becoming a serious situation for our nation as a whole and it directly affects the functioning
of the economy," says Heather Treacy, with the Calgary office of DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. "We're
really at a juncture where, if we want continued economic prosperity in Canada, we need to address
With dozens of large projects hanging
in the balance and legal precedents in their
favour, Aboriginal groups now have the leverage
to resolve land claims and other issues.
Direct, good-faith negotiations can help
avoid lengthy regulatory and court battles
BY BRIAN BURTON
TIME
RECONCILIATION
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
