Implications of the Ktunaxa Nation/Jumbo Valley Case for Religious Freedom Jurisprudence
in Dwight Newman, ed., Religious Freedom and Communities (Toronto: LexisNexis, 2016)
(2016) 75 S.C.L.R. (2d)
12 Pages Posted: 18 Aug 2017
Date Written: August 15, 2016
Abstract
The Ktunaxa Nation case that went to the Supreme Court of Canada (in December 2016) concerning the Jumbo Valley site — or what the community itself calls Qat’muk — is significant to the Indigenous community whose life is affected by whether the development at issue in the case proceeds. As the first Indigenous religious freedom case to be argued at the Supreme Court of Canada under the religious freedom clause in section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it will also have a broader significance to religious freedom jurisprudence generally. Apart from the result of the case, the reasoning of the Court matters immensely. This paper explains why and how the case could have broader implications for religious freedom.
Keywords: religious freedom, sacred sites, Indigenous rights
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