Aboriginal & Treaty Rights

Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada are recognized and affirmed in the Constitution Act, 1982 in subsection 35(1).

Aboriginal and treaty rights are generally sourced from historical practices and treaties. Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations generally include the right to self-determination including self-government, the right to education and to medicine,  and to hunt, fish, trap and gather on unoccupied Crown land.

For most First Nations within the Numbered Treaty Territories, the treaty with the sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the defining feature in their relationship with modern Canada, the British Crown’s successor.

Known and credibly asserted section 35 rights are protected, in part, by the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate. The Crown must consult, and if appropriate accommodate, when it contemplates activity that may adversely affect the exercise of constitutionally protected Aboriginal or treaty rights.

Howe Legal (SK) has experience assisting First Nations in Saskatchewan, meanwhile Howe Legal (ON) has experience assisting a provincial Crown agency; with navigating this complex legal area.