January 26, 2017 marked the first-year anniversary of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s (“The Tribunal”) landmark decision regarding the issue of funding for child welfare services provided to First Nations children on reserve and in the Yukon. The complaint was filed in 2008 by the First Nations … [Read more...]
Access to Justice: Potential Alternatives for Indigenous Peoples
About a year ago, there had been some publicity concerning Louie v. Louie BCCA, a court case where I acted as barrister and solicitor for an intervenor at the B.C. Court of Appeal. The case had involved a band member who sued his Chief and Council for a breach of fiduciary obligation. I was … [Read more...]
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Sets the Stage for First Nation Discrimination Cases
In late January, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (Tribunal) ruled that children living on First Nations reserves have been discriminated against because of underfunding of education and child welfare. (see: First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada et al v Attorney General of … [Read more...]
Era of Reconciliation: A Sacred Relationship
The truth be told, Canada’s dealing with its Indigenous populations has a dismal historical record. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has faced this issue head on. In its report, it states: Residential schooling was only a part of the colonization of Aboriginal people. The policy of … [Read more...]
Indian Residential Schools – A Chronology
This chronology was compiled to convey, by historic milestones, how the Indian Residential School system came to be, how it embodied attitudes of its time, how critics were dismissed, and how finally the deep harm it did to many members of generations of Indian children was exposed in the course of … [Read more...]
Supreme Court of Canada Addresses Jury Composition and Aboriginal Equality
A few months ago, this human rights column was about the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in R v Kokopenace, 2013 ONCA. The major issues in Kokopenace were the scope of the right to representativeness on the jury roll (a list of persons who are eligible to serve on a jury) under sections 11(d), … [Read more...]