Aboriginal-Title Land Claims Gaining Steam
It may have taken two years, but the momentum around the precedent-setting Tsilhqot'in Supreme Court decision is building.
The 2014 ruling recognized for the first time in Canada the right of a semi-nomadic community's title to land in which it lives part-time. Jack Woodward lawyer, who worked on that case, says the Nuchatlaht First Nation's recently filed Aboriginal-title claim is a direct reflection of that ruling.
The ruling in 2014 placed a greater burden on the government to justify economic development of First Nations land.
Woodward says several other First Nations are working on Aboriginal-title claims. This case is likely to elicit a bevy of public opinions, especially if multiple cases follow suit.
