Authors: Jalissa Boucher & Joshua Cugini Over the last few decades, Canada has engaged with international partners to implement various obligations and treaty commitments aimed at environmental protection, including the Paris Agreement and the Agreement on EnvironmentalCooperation (which is part of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement or “CUSMA”). As a party to such legal instruments, Canada […]
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Should Canadians be Worried about the Growing Power of the Executive Branch? The Recent Inclusion of Henry VIII Clauses in the “Nation-Building” Projects.
Authors: James, Skye & Ally New Provincial and Federal Legislation Is Aimed At “Nation-Building” The recent enactment of major project “fast-tracking” legislation by Canada and Ontario poses a threat to Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protection and constitutionally protected section 35 treaty rights by transferring power from provincial and federal legislatures to their Cabinets. Passed into law […]
Major Problem for Major Projects: Why the Ring of Fire Should Stay Off the Major Project Office’s List
Authors: Alexandra Rufo and Will Hanlon Prime Minister Mark Carney has presented his government’s agenda as directed by one central mandate: “build big, build bold, and build now”. To that end, Parliament enacted the Building Canada Act (BCA) last June and the federal government quickly established the Major Projects Office (MPO). The MPO is intended […]
Here to Stay: Aboriginal Title and Private Property Ownership
Authors: Henry Challen & Martin Whittaker Chief Sulsulxumaat, Cindy Daniels, of Cowichan Tribes. We are now seeing what happens when the constitutionally enshrined rights of Indigenous Peoples come face-to-face with what scholars have called the “sacred cow” of the Canadian political economy: colonially appropriated private property. According to historian Bryan Palmer, in Canada, colonialism and […]
Regulatory Retreat: How Bill C-15 Could Undermine Greenwashing Enforcement in Canada
Authors: Ava Torkaman & Annabelle MacRae Source Last November, Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 (“Bill C-15”) was introduced to the House of Commons. The purpose of Bill C-15 is to implement certain provisions of Budget 2025: Canada Strong. The Bill is currently being studied by the Standing Committee on Finance. Most significantly for those […]
Decolonizing Taxation?
February 12th, 2025 Authors: Alexander Qanbery and Blaise Matlock Indigenous governments require resources to provide services to their communities. While, in Canada, some funding for services in Indigenous communities comes from federal and provincial governments, these transfers typically have strings attached: colonial ideas about how the funds can be spent and the year-to-year political whims […]
Building Momentum: First Nations Challenge Ontario’s Free Entry Mining System
January 28th, 2025 Authors: Gillian Chamberlain, Areej Safdar, Julia Singer, John-James Stranz, Kristen Theriault In a 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that the province has a duty to consult Indigenous peoples prior to registering mineral claims on their territories. Similarly, the Supreme Court of Quebec recently confirmed that the Quebec government […]
Ottawa Hosts International Talks on the Future of Plastics
Author: Dania Ahmed As the world grapples with an escalating plastic pollution crisis, the need for a comprehensive and binding international agreement has never been more pressing. This sentiment was evident as national delegates gathered at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-4), held in Ottawa, in April 2024. Despite […]
B.C. court acknowledges the costs of Free Entry mining system – what does it mean for Indigenous peoples in Ontario?
Author: Julia Brown A recent decision from the Supreme Court of British Columbia on mineral exploration may be useful to Indigenous peoples in Ontario arguing that they are entitled to deeper consultation and accommodation in the context of early mineral exploration activities. In Gitxaala v British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner) (“Gitxaala”), the Court was asked […]
Protection through Partnership: To Meet the UN’s 30x30 Target, Canada Should Look to International IPCA Models for Guidance
Authors: Kirti Vyas, Bridget Allen O’Neil, Angela Dittrich Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured journalists at the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that Canada will meet its “25 by 25 target.” Protecting 25 percent of Canada’s lands and oceans by 2025 is a promising step towards the more ambitious international goal of […]
