Posts Tagged ‘Aboriginal rights’

The Kokopenace case and Aboriginal representation in the administration of justice

May 29th, 2015 by Shelina Ali

This post was first published on rabble.ca

The recent backlash over the actions of prosecutors in the criminal trial of Bradley Barton, accused of the first degree murder of Cindy Gladue and found not guilty by a panel of 11 jurors, raised concerns over the treatment of Aboriginal victims by the justice system and how Ms. Gladue in particular was dehumanized by the way prosecutors presented evidence of the crimes committed against her. Some commentators noted that underrepresentation of Aboriginal peoples on juries in Edmonton was a problem and asked whether this underrepresentation played a role in the outcome in this case.

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Uncertain environmental impacts remain difficult to challenge

December 14th, 2011 by Laura Bowman

Liard First Nation v. Yukon Territory (Minister of Energy, Mines & Resources), 2011 YKSC 55 (pdf)

The Liard First Nation is in the southeast Yukon. The First Nation participated in the territorial environmental assessment (EA) of a proposed quartz mine by Selwyn Chihong in the Howard’s pass area near Watson Lake.  After consultations with Liard FN the Yukon designated office approved the environmental assessment report. There were numerous outstanding environmental questions at the end of the environmental assessment process. The main dispute in the case was the deferral of controversial water and pollution issues to licensing. The Liard FN alleged that the approval of the environmental assessment was unreasonable and breached the duty to consult and accommodate.

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