Geoffrey Moyse K.C., PLUs legal advisor writes for the National Post:
Governments secretly negotiated recognition of Aboriginal title over entire Haida Gwaii archipelago without any legal proof
In a recent op-ed in the National Post, Josh Dehaas of the Canadian Constitution Foundation wrote: “Last September, many Canadians were shocked to learn through a Haida Nation news release that British Columbia and Canada had gone behind closed doors in judges’ chambers and signed an agreement that recognized Aboriginal title over all of Haida Gwaii. Without having to prove their title in court, the Haida gained constitutionally protected rights over the entire archipelago.”
His basic point was that governments have been negotiating Aboriginal title and then seeking court declarations of such title over vast parts of British Columbia — areas that would almost assuredly never pass the test of being subject to Aboriginal title if litigated in the courts.
The legal subterfuge to which Dehaas alluded — a process of concurrent bilateral negotiations between the Haida and the provincial and federal governments — goes back more than a few years.
Read the full article at National Post: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/legal-subterfuge