Aboriginal Law

Members of Macleod Dixon's Aboriginal Law Practice Group have extensive experience in providing advice, litigating and negotiating the settlement of issues involving aboriginal and treaty rights, as well as participation in the process of consultation with First Nations. Our lawyers have dealt with the evolving and at times ground-breaking issues in this area of law over the past 25 years.

The issues our Practice Group has encountered over the years include disputes over the ownership of oil and gas producing lands, the ownership of water rights, claims of traditional land rights in lands leased by the Province to industry, treaty interpretation, and often involve traditional land use studies and oral history evidence.

The breadth and depth of our experience in Aboriginal Law and the often paired areas of regulatory and environmental law allows us to achieve workable solutions for our clients.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Duty to Consult and Disputes involving Rights to Oil and Gas producing lands

Advising resource development businesses and others dealing with consultation, environmental, and regulatory issues concerning treaty and non-treaty areas.
Counsel defending a Treaty 8 based claim to land entitlement arising from Bill C-31 and involving a claim of the right to select lands in the Oil Sands and other areas of Alberta.
Providing advice regarding Impact Benefit Agreements with First Nations.
Acting for industry in the Public Hearings held into the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline Project.
Acting for industry in the Federal Court in judicial review proceedings relating to the duty to consult in the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline Project brought by the Dene Tha against Canada et al.
Acting for industry in the Federal Court in judicial review proceedings relating to the McKenzie Valley environmental and regulatory regime and the Deh Cho claim to consultation regarding oil and gas development.

Disputes involving Water Rights

Defending a claim for implied Treaty 7 or aboriginal water rights (the "Winters Doctrine").
Appearing in the Supreme Court of Canada on various water and fishing related aboriginal issues originating in British Columbia.
Appearing before environmental boards dealing with water management and environmental issues in the South Saskatchewan River Basin and involving First Nation claims to water (Willow Creek and Highwood/Little Bow Hearings).

Treaty Interpretation, Aboriginal Rights and Title

Counsel for the Federal Crown in the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada defending two multi-billion dollar claims brought by two First Nations alleging breach of Treaty 6 and mismanagement of their oil and gas resources and the royalties flowing therefrom.
Counsel in the defence of various Treaty 7 related First Nation claims, including a multi-billion dollar challenge to the legal validity and meaning of Treaty 7.
Counsel for Alberta in the defence of claims by Treaty 8 First Nations claiming immunity from taxation based on Treaty 8, advanced at trial in the Federal Court of Canada, appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal through to a denial of leave to appeal by the Supreme Court of Canada in Benoit et al v. Canada and Alberta.
Counsel for Alberta in the dispute involving the assertion by the Lubicon Cree of claims to aboriginal and Treaty 8 rights.
Providing advice concerning evidentiary issues dealing with oral history, traditional knowledge and land use and occupation studies.

Injunctions

Experience as counsel for government in obtaining court orders enjoining highway blockades and the diversion of rivers by First Nations.

Corporate Deals and Transactions

Providing advice to corporate clients relating to issues involving the Indian Act, Indian Oil and Gas Act, the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, the Constitution Act and other Federal legislation.
Providing advice to corporate clients relating to enforcing security on Indian Reserves, leasing Reserve land and taxation issues on Reserves.