Aboriginal Law Conference 2022

Course Chairs
Tumia Knott, spaləl̕ — First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver
Dr. Bruce McIvor — First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs
My education and career have been dedicated to supporting Indigenous self-determination and governance, and I have been blessed with the privilege to spend over 25 years working in my own home community of q̓ʷa:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen First Nation) in a leadership role as a member of Council, as well as in a variety of administrative roles in general operations; economic development; lands, resources, rights and title; and work as in-house legal counsel. I feel honoured for the opportunity to support and work with other Indigenous communities and clients.

I carry working knowledge and experience in complex negotiations, agreements, innovative partnership and co-management opportunities with all levels of government and third parties, along with development and implementation of on-reserve property taxation, land management and land code, various laws, policies and procedures in a variety of areas. Other practical experience includes active participation in various regulatory processes, rights and title advocacy, Specific Claim and litigation support, operations management, facilitation and strategic planning. Listening carefully to client needs and executing personalized, practical, solution-based support is paramount to how I approach my work.

Dr. Bruce McIvor is a partner at First Peoples Law LLP. His work includes both litigation and negotiation on behalf of Indigenous Peoples across Canada. Bruce is recognized nationally and internationally as a leading practitioner of Aboriginal law in Canada. His collection of essays entitled Standoff: Why Reconciliation Fails Indigenous People and How to Fix It was published in the fall of 2021 by Harbour Publishing. Bruce is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

Luncheon Speaker
Daniel R. Elliott — Artist, Cultural Worker, and Counselor, Stz'uminus First Nation, Nanaimo

Faculty
Carolyn Belleau — Articling Clinician, Everyone Legal Clinic, Williams Lake
Karen Campbell — Executive Director, BC Law Institute & Canadian Centre for Elder Law, UBC, Vancouver
Christina J. Cook — Insurance Lawyer, Vancouver
Ɂekw’ahtı̨dǝ́ (Chief) Danny Gaudet — Délın̨e K’aowedo Ke, Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government, Délı̨nę, NT
Steve Graham, PEng, PGeo, CSAP, PhD — S. Graham Engineering and Geology Inc., Tsawwassen
Kate Gunn — First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver
Saul B. Joseph — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
Kelty McKerracher — Law Clerk, Vancouver
Drew Mildon — Woodward & Co. Lawyers LLP, Victoria & Whitehorse
Tamara Napoleon — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Vancouver
Cody O'Neil — Articled Student, First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver
Simon Owen — BC Law Institute & Canadian Centre for Elder Law, UBC, Vancouver
Chrystie Stewart — Stewart & Springford LLP, Kamloops
Ɂekw’ahtı̨ Raymond Taneton — Délın̨e K’aowedo Ke, Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government, Délı̨nę, NT
Daniel T'seleie — Chief Negotiator, K'ahsho Got’ı̨nę, Fort Good Hope, NT
Aaron Wilson — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Jack Woodward, KC — Barrister and Solicitor, Campbell River

Course Materials Contributor
Simon Owen — BC Law Institute & Canadian Centre for Elder Law, UBC, Vancouver
Cheryl Sharvit — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:15)

Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Tumia Knott, spaləl̕ — First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver
Dr. Bruce McIvor — First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver

Challenges and Opportunities for Economic Development and Collaborative Agreements (9:15 – 10:30)

Observations on Negotiating Financial Aspects of Benefits Agreements in the Resource Sector in BC and Alberta

Steve Graham, PEng, PGeo, CSAP, PhD — S. Graham Engineering and Geology Inc., Tsawwassen

Secured Financing in the First Nation's Context

• • LPs, LLPs, and tax implications

Drew Mildon — Woodward & Co. Lawyers LLP, Victoria & Whitehorse

Government to Government Agreements

• • reconciliation, government to government agreements, and collaboration pursuant to s. 6-7 of DRIPA

Saul B. Joseph — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (10:30 – 10:50)

Implementing Indigenous Jurisdiction (10:50 – 11:50)

UNDRIP, DRIPA, and Implementation Issues 

Tamara Napoleon — Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Vancouver

The Bill C-92 Reference: Indigenous Jurisdiction at the Supreme Court

• • the implications of the Quebec Court of Appeal decision and upcoming appeal at the Supreme Court in relation to the recognition and implementation of Indigenous Peoples' inherent law-making authority and the development of Aboriginal rights jurisprudence under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982

Kate Gunn — First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver

Questions & Discussion (11:50 – 12:00)

LUNCH with Featured Speaker (12:00 – 1:30)

Truth, Art, and Reconciliation (12:45-1:15)

Daniel R. Elliott — Artist, Cultural Worker, and Counselor, Stz'uminus First Nation, Nanaimo

Current Issues in Aboriginal Title Litigation (1:30 – 2:30)

The Admissibility of Oral History Evidence

• • recent Cowichan Tribes et al. v. Canada (Attorney General) decision wherein Musqueam successfully defended an application seeking a ruling that their witnesses' oral history evidence was largely inadmissible

Aaron Wilson — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver

Some Radical Predictions About Future Aboriginal Title Litigation

• • future cases might not take forever, or cost a fortune
  • evidence from community members may not always be necessary
  • anthropological evidence might be less helpful than it seems
  • the Indian Act may be more helpful than it seems
  • DRIPA and UNDRIP may be no help

Jack Woodward, KC — Barrister and Solicitor, Campbell River

BREAK (2:30 – 2:45)

Legal Decolonizing Initiatives (2:45 – 3:25)

Indigenous Mediation and Negotiation Centre

Chrystie Stewart — Stewart & Springford LLP, Kamloops

The Role(s) of Law Reform in implementing the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

Introducing BCLI as BC's independent law reform body: our strengths, methods, and outputs

• • how both legal frameworks and approaches to law reform are impacted by the Declaration Act

Some ways we're starting to meet this moment

• • establishing the Reconciling Crown Legal Frameworks Program
  • opening to Indigenous law in active projects: parentage, substitute decision-making in healthcare, local government public hearings
  • drafting informational Reconciliation Primers 

Further progress, further questions

• • deepening public and practitioner familiarity with working in legally plural contexts
  • how legal pluralism is shaping our own methods and outputs

Karen Campbell — Executive Director, BC Law Institute & Canadian Centre for Elder Law, UBC, Vancouver

Decolonizing the Legal Profession (3:25 – 4:00)

The Need for Indigenous Benchers: The Complicated History of Indigenous People and the Law Society

Christina J. Cook — Insurance Lawyer, Vancouver

How the JD/JID Program Can (Re)Shape the Legal Landscape: Recent Graduates from the UVIC Joint Degree Program

• • how my legal education taught me to think about law as a pluriverse
  • what my legal education taught me about ethics and professional conduct
  • un-othering the Indigenous in the legal landscape

Carolyn Belleau — Articling Clinician, Everyone Legal Clinic, Williams Lake
Kelty McKerracher — Law Clerk, Vancouver
Cody O'Neil — Articled Student, First Peoples Law LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (4:00 – 4:15)

Modern Land Claims—Promise and Reality (4:15 – 4:55)

The Deline Got'ine Experience: Lessons Learned and Current Challenges

Ɂekw’ahtı̨dǝ́ (Chief) Danny Gaudet — Délın̨e K’aowedo Ke, Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government, Délı̨nę, NT
Ɂekw’ahtı̨ Raymond Taneton — Délın̨e K’aowedo Ke, Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government, Délı̨nę, NT

K'ahsho Got'ine Self-Government Negotiations

• • the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement
  • barriers to progress in our self-government negotiations and other rights issues
  • amendments to create consistency with evolving federal policy and UNDRIP
  • our proposed path forward

Daniel T'seleie — Chief Negotiator, K'ahsho Got’ı̨nę, Fort Good Hope, NT

Closing Comments (4:55 – 5:00)