Open AccessLife Among the Ruins: Section 91(24) After Tsilhqot'in and Grassy Narrows
Author(s) -
Kerry Wilkins
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
alberta law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1925-8356
pISSN - 0002-4821
DOI - 10.29173/alr791
Subject(s) - treaty , supreme court , law , section (typography) , doctrine , sovereign immunity , constitution , conversation , political science , sociology , business , communication , advertising
In two landmark 2014 decisions — Tsilhqot’in and Grassy Narrows — the Supreme Court of Canada held that section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, is all that protects existing Aboriginal and treaty rights from federal or provincial infringement: that such rights derive no additional protection from the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity. This article examines that conclusion by criticizing the reasoning offered in its support, pointing out its unacknowledged doctrinal implications, and inviting a broader conversation about how the law should address them.