Respect for Treaty Rights in Ontario: The Law of the Land?
Ottawa Law Review, Vol. 39, p. 405, 2007
22 Pages Posted: 19 Feb 2009
There are 2 versions of this paper
Respect for Treaty Rights in Ontario: The Law of the Land?
Respect for Treaty Rights in Ontario: The Law of the Land?
Date Written: June 2, 2007
Abstract
The meaning and suitable implementation of rights guaranteed under Crown aboriginal treaties remains a controversial issue in Canada and one that has recently given rise to a number of public confrontations. This paper examines the extent to which legislatures and the Crown have taken steps to give effect to the constitutional entrenchment of treaty rights in Ontario, a province settled pursuant to historical treaty-making. The writer's analysis suggests that the frequency of treaty disputes in Canada may reflect a systematic governmental failure to identify, define and recognize treaty rights in domestic law and policy. The paper concludes that the creation of free-standing mechanisms to assist in defining outstanding treaty rights and in resolving treaty disputes is a necessary part of the Crown's constitutional obligation to ascertain and give effect to existing treaty rights in Canada.
A few minor textual differences exist between this draft and the article published in the Ottawa Law Review, to which citations of this article should be made.
Keywords: treaty rights, indigenous rights, aboriginal rights, Indians
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation