News and Updates

In 1985, the Conservative government officially ended enfranchisement with Bill C-31 and restored Indian Status to thousands of people albeit with some serious asterisks. Some of those asterisks were removed in 2011, 2016, and 2019. Yet, more remain encoded within section 6 of the current Indian Act.

In the context of the movement in support of the Wet'suwet'en Nation across the country, Me Elisabeth Patterson underlines in a televised interview on the 6:00 p.m. news the importance for the Government of Quebec to establish a constant and respectful dialogue with First Nations, especially regarding the new Quebec GNL pipeline project, which will go through several territories of First Nations who retain their ancestral rights.

As Canada’s Liberal government works to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, questions remain around what its impact will be in the Canadian legal context.

In August 2016, the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) adopted a resolution to take internal action in support of the TRC’s Calls to Action and, in 2018-2019, Ms. Jeeroburkhan sat on a CBA Task Force mandated to direct the organization on implementing this resolution. On September 13, 2019, the CBA task force’s work culminated in the launch of a new Truth and Reconciliation website (amongst other results), which is to be a communications vehicle for the entire Canadian legal community.

In the coming months, the Federal Court will be asked to approve the settlement of a nationwide class action against Canada to compensate survivors for the harm they suffered while attending federally administered Indian day schools. The proposed settlement with Canada includes any person who attended a federal Indian day school, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

Dionne Schulze is proud of Ms. Sarah-Maude Belleville-Chenard, who was appointed in June 2018 to the Liaison Committee of the Bar with the Human Rights Tribunal.

Jameela Jeeroburkhan is a partner at Dionne Schulze in Montreal, where she helps Indigenous clients navigate complex litigation and negotiates on their behalf with governments and industry. She is an executive committee member of the CBA’s National Aboriginal Law Section.