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1. Property Rights and Prosperity: A Case Study of Westbank First Nation

   First Nations people living on Indian reserves are the most disadvantaged segment of Canada’s Indigenous population. Yet the situation is not all bleak because some First Nations are finding a path toward prosperity. Scholars, like journalists, often ...

2. Despite claims to the contrary, B.C. bill does not include First Nation veto over resource development

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, December 3, 2018 The British Columbia Legislative Assembly recently gave first reading to Bill 51, the NDP government’s new Environmental Assessment Act. It does not recognize the veto over resource development that many ...

3. No evidence that billions in payments improve First Nations communities

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, June 22, 2018 In the jargon of Indigenous affairs, “specific claims” made by First Nations allege that the federal government has violated a treaty or the Indian Act, most often in the allocation or management of reserve ...

4. Stop the specific claims perpetual motion machine

   “Specific claims” by First Nations allege that Canada has violated treaties or the Indian Act. Most such claims relate to the administration of reserve lands. Following the earlier example of the United States, Canada started accepting ...

5. Specific Claims and the Well-Being of First Nations

   In the vocabulary of Canadian Indigenous issues, “specific claims” are made by First Nations who have already adhered to treaties but believe that the Canadian government has not properly implemented their treaty or, even if they have not signed a treaty, ...

6. First Nations in Ontario challenging routine maintenance of pipeline system

   Appeared in the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, March 7, 2017 In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada created the “duty to consult.” The setting was British Columbia, where aboriginal title had never been ceded by treaty. The ruling made sense in that context ...

7. Aboriginal title’s true meaning: billable hours

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail Adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 made treaty and Aboriginal rights constitutional, though no one knew at the time what that meant. We are gradually finding out as the Supreme Court of Canada develops a ...