FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR TEST CASES ON HUMAN RIGHTS The recently reinstated Court Challenges Program will offer funding for test cases related to the equality provisions of the Charter, among others. The program objectives are to provide financial support to help Canadians gain access to the courts for the litigation of test cases of national [...]
In 1973, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that unextinguished Aboriginal title continued to exist in parts of Canada, though at the time the interest was considered to be a right held by Indigenous communities to simply to possess (not necessarily exclusively) and use the lands. This right was also considered to be subject [...]
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, protects the existing Aboriginal rights of the “aboriginal peoples of Canada”, which includes the Métis. Aboriginal rights are modern-day practices, customs or traditions that are integral to Indigenous communities today and have their roots in the community’s practices, customs and traditions prior to contact with explorers and [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada has held that a Treaty between the Crown and Indigenous peoples is unique. It is neither created nor terminated according to the rules of international law. The term “Historic Treaty” refers to Treaties that were negotiated an entered into by representatives of the British Crown and the Indigenous peoples [...]
Aboriginal rights are modern-day practices, customs or traditions that are integral to Indigenous communities today and have their roots in the community’s practices, customs and traditions prior to contact with explorers and traders arriving from Europe. Although traceable to pre-contact practices, the practice protected today will not be frozen in its historical form, and [...]
Since it was first articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2004, the law on the duty to consult and, if appropriate, accommodate claimed and established Aboriginal and Treaty rights has helped to promote the economic development of Aboriginal lands and communities. The duty means that federal and provincial governments must take the [...]
Westaway Law Group is proud to represent our First Nation, Métis and Inuit clients as Appellants, Respondents and Interveners before the Supreme Court of Canada. Located just minutes from the Supreme Court, we are also poised to act as Ottawa Agents for the service and filing of documents as required by the Court. Representation [...]
HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW Human rights are rights that we all have by virtue of our shared humanity. In Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides constitutional protection for these rights, including the right for everyone to be equal before and under the law. Federal, provincial and territorial human rights laws also [...]
SECTION 15(1) The right to equality is recognized and protected by the Canadian constitution. Section 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Human Rights provides: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination [...]
RESOLVING LEGAL DISPUTES: ALTERNATIVES TO LITIGATION All legal issues are essentially a dispute: two (or more) parties cannot agree on the interpretation or enforcement of their legal obligations. While the resolution of legal disputes is often conflated with the adversarial court system, in fact there exist a wide range of “alternatives” to litigation. The [...]
