The Duty to Consult Resource Page
Provided by Dwight
Newman, Associate Professor of Law, University of Saskatchewan
The duty to consult doctrine in Canadian law is a doctrine developed by
the Supreme Court of Canada.
This doctrine says that governments making decisions that may have an
impact on Aboriginal rights or treaty rights have a duty to consult the
potentially affected Aboriginal communities even prior to final proof
of the rights in court or final settlement on the rights in negotiation
processes.
This webpage seeks to provide basic information and resources on the
duty to consult doctrine and will be updated over time.
The Duty to Consult: Supreme Court of Canada Case Law
The duty to consult was first introduced in its modern form in a series
of Supreme Court of Canada cases in 2004 and 2005:
- the Haida
Nation case (Haida Nation v.
British Columbia (Minister of Forests), [2004] 3 S.C.R. 511, 2004
SCC
73)
- the Taku
River Tlingit First Nation case
(Taku River Tlingit First
Nation v. British Columbia (Project Assessment
Director), [2004] 3 S.C.R. 550, 2004
SCC
74)
- the Mikisew
Cree First Nation case (Mikisew Cree First Nation v.
Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage), 2005 SCC 69, [2005]
3
S.C.R. 388)
The duty to consult doctrine has been back recently before the Supreme
Court of Canada in two cases:
[Further material will be added to this website shortly - by late
November 2009. In the meantime, if you want more information
about the duty to consult, I include information on my book on the duty
to consult below...]
My book on the Duty to Consult has just been released.
Dwight G. Newman, The Duty to
Consult: New Relationships with Aboriginal Peoples (Saskatoon:
Purich, 2009)
To order, click here to go to the publisher's website: Purich Publishing
Or find it in fine bookstores!