CA Aboriginal title judgment has serious mining implications – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – June 27, 2014)

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Canadian Supreme Court decision granting unprecedented authority to First Nations may mean trouble for mining on traditional lands.

RENO (MINEWEB) – Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, 2014 SCC 44, a ground-breaking decision by the Canadian Supreme Court on a 20-year old dispute over Aboriginal communities land claims in British Columbia, has staggering implications for Canadian mining, especially for miners and explorationists who have failed to establish meaningful and positive working relationships with various First Nations groups.

The Tahltan Central Council of Dease Lake B.C. has already announced that it will prepare an Aboriginal title and rights claim against the Province of British Columbia and Fortune Minerals against the Arctos Anthracite Coal project for Mt. Klappan.

As of Mineweb’s deadline early Friday, Fortune Minerals had not published a comment regarding the Tahltan Nation’s decision to file an Aboriginal title and rights claim against the mining company.

The Supreme Court rendered its judgment on an appeal by Chief Roger William on behalf of the Tsilhqot’in Nation concerning 1990-1998 legal dispute which sought a declaration of Aboriginal title over 438,000 hectares in B.C.’s Cariboo-Chilcotin region after the BC government granted Carrier Lumber a license to cut trees in Tsilhqot’in territory. The trial on the matter convened in November 2012 and was heard over 339 trial days.

In November 2007, Justice Vickers of the B.C. Supreme Court had found that the provincial laws cannot apply to Aboriginal title; that the Tsilhqot’in Nation had demonstrated required evidence of existence of Aboriginal title in a 190,000 hectare area; and that the Tsilhqot’in Nation had an Aboriginal right to earn a livelihood on those lands through hunting and trapping.

The B.C. Court of Appeal expressed a different opinion in that Aboriginal title must be demonstrated on a site-specific rather than territorial basis. Nevertheless, the Court of Appeal agreed that B.C. Forest Act infringed on the Tsilhqot’in Nation’s Aboriginal rights.

In 2013, Chief William appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada, which published its findings on Thursday.
“In today’s decision, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the trail judge’s findings regarding title and provided guidance and clarity regarding the continuing validity of provincial laws of general applications,” said the B.C. Ministry of Justice. “As well, it offered clarity related to the scope of consultation and accommodation applicable to those lands over which Aboriginal title is asserted or proven.”

Tahltan Central Council President Annita McPhee said Thursday, “This historic ruling re-affirms what the Tahltan people have been saying over a hundred years – this is our territory, and we have never surrendered our title. The Province and Canada will now have to respect that title and stop unilaterally making decisions without our consent.”

“Today’s decision makes it clear that B.C. cannot simply push ahead without our consent, and we intend to fight them every step of the way if they persist,” said McPhee.

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