The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the Ontario government’s right to permit industrial logging on a First Nation’s traditional lands.
Today’s unanimous ruling comes on the heels of a historic judgment in the Tsilhqot’in case in British Columbia that changed the way governments must deal with First Nations over land where Aboriginal title is claimed.
The Grassy Narrows First Nation appealed after Ontario’s highest court ruled in March 2013 that the province has the right to “take up” treaty land for forestry and mining.
Only Ottawa, they argued, has the power to take up the land because the treaty promises were made between the Crown and First Nations.
The tiny community from northwestern Ontario has spent more than a decade in court fighting the province’s decision to issue a licence for clearcut operations in parts of the Keewatin portion of
Treaty 3 territory.
The Supreme Court’s decision clarifies the roles of the federal and provincial governments when it comes to resource development on treaty land.
The chief of the Grassy Narrows First Nation says his band will keep fighting to protect its people and land.
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde says he remains unconvinced that justice will be achieved through Canada’s domestic courts when it comes to First Nations’ interpretation of their international treaties.
(with files from The Canadian Press)