Native Law 2020 Release – 3

2020-3

Woodward

Native Law

This Release includes updates to the law in the following important areas:

Whether public schools may offer an Indigenous cultural component. The B.C. Supreme Court held that it does not offend religious freedoms for a school to host demonstrations of Indigenous beliefs and practices. See paragraph 14§245.

Canada’s new Indigenous Child Welfare legislation. An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, S.C. 2019, c. 24, affirms that the inherent right of self-government recognized and affirmed in s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 includes jurisdiction in relation to child and family services. See paragraphs 15§447, 15§487 and 15§500.

Canada’s Indigenous Languages Act. The new federal Indigenous Languages Act, S.C. 2019, c. 23, recognizes that Indigenous languages are fundamental to the identities, cultures, spirituality, relationships to the land, world views and selfdetermination of Indigenous peoples. See paragraphs 5§2530 and 14§685.

Litigation should not be prohibitively expensive. The Supreme Court of Canada said that the honour of the Crown requires increased attention to minimizing costs and complexity when litigating s. 35 matters. Newfoundland and Labrador (Attorney General) v. Uashaunnuat (Innu of Uashat and of ManiUtenam), 2020 SCC 4, 2020 CarswellQue 640, 443 D.L.R. (4th) 1 (S.C.C.), para. 51. See 3§1840.

You can find the PDF copy here: Publisher’s Notes – 2020(3)