News & Events

The interests that are frequently encountered are nested within a broad and complex system of Indigenous land law. Transactions involving some of the Aboriginal land interests are obscure, highly specialized. or even constitutionally off-limits to lawyers and Notaries!  Read more

Aboriginal rights are biodiversity rights – National Observer By Owen Leggatt Stewart | Opinion, Climate Solutions Reporting When the dust settles at the end of this month’s United Nations COP15 biodiversity conference, it will be clear it has bitten off more than it could chew. The conference’s aims are herculean. The stakes are high. The […]

Comment: Aboriginal Title is in the Public Interest – Times Colonist A commentary by Owen Leggatt Stewart, a barrister and solicitor in Campbell River. More than 25 years ago, a decision was not made, and our province is still struggling from it. Delgamuukw, a foundational legal case of our post- constitution society, acknowledged that Aboriginal […]

Nuchatlaht ‘betrayed’ in Nootka land trial – Times Colonist The lawyer for a B.C. First Nation challenging the province in a land rights trial says the government’s decision not to adjust the case based on its own new litigation directives “undermines the process of reconciliation.”  Read more…   Nuchatlaht Town Hall Meeting in Vancouver, BC […]

Nuchatlaht take fight for heavily logged territory to B.C. Supreme Court Extensive industrial clearcutting destroyed salmon streams on an island the B.C. government says the Nuchatlaht ‘abandoned.’ Now the nation is taking the matter to the province’s highest court in the first case to cite the precedent-setting Tsilhqot’in land title decision.  Read more

50 Canadians who are forging paths, leading the debate and shaping how we think and live.  Click here for rankings. At the top of our annual Power List are the unknown victims of residential schools—hundreds of children who lost their lives before they were finally heard. Here, in brief, is the thinking behind our decision, […]

Now Available: Consolidated Aboriginal Law in Canada Statutes, Regulations and Treaties 2022 Consolidated Aboriginal Law in Canada Statutes, Regulations and Treaties 2020 features new legislative enactments and updates to reflect all amendments to the provisions of the relevant legislation and treaties in Aboriginal Law. Under the editorial direction of Jack Woodward, this work brings together a […]

It Can’t End Like This – A Dispatch from COP26, Glasgow Jack Woodward, QC We are a motley crew from British Columbia: young activists, the chief of a first nation, an old lawyer, a young lawyer, some partners, supporters and hangers-on.  All at our own expense we made our way to Glasgow to save the […]

Why the climate needs Indigenous knowledge Addressing the greatest challenge of our times has to be done through the lens of reconciliation. By Owen Stewart    In the recent federal election, the main political parties agreed on two goals: the need for reconciliation and the need to address the increasingly obvious climate crisis. At this […]

Courage – A Dispatch from COP26, Glasgow Jack Woodward, QC I went to the “water ceremony” as a hardened sceptic, but I left in tears.  About 100 people gathered in the bitter Scottish cold, including Chief Jordan Michael from tiny Nuchatlaht, in Nootka Sound.  Jordan is a logger; a tall, fit, practical, Vancouver Islander who […]

What Is the Royal Proclamation of 1763? The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III and established the basis for governing the North American territories surrendered by France to Britain following the Seven Years’ War. In this video Jack Woodward, Q.C discusses how the Royal Proclamation of 1763 impacts Aboriginal Law today. […]