“Simply claiming aboriginal title is now enough to bring forward litigation against private parties — litigation that was previously only brought against provincial and federal governments…
“With an increase in litigation, this ruling could put all current and future economic development projects in jeopardy, especially in provinces such as British Columbia, where more than 100% of the province is currently under claim by ‘First Nations’.” 
“An unprecedented Supreme Court decision, allowing two B.C. ‘First Nations’ to file for damages against aluminum industry giant ‘Rio Tinto’, could have dire implications for economic development projects across the country, concludes a new study released today by the ‘Fraser Institute’…
“The study, “Economic Development in Jeopardy? Implications of the Saik’uz ‘First Nation’ and Stellat’en ‘First Nation’ v. Rio Tinto Decision”, spotlights the October 2015 Supreme Court decision to uphold a BC Court of Appeal ruling that paves the way for ‘First Nations’ to file for damages against private parties (ie: companies, individuals or non-government entities) without proving aboriginal title first.
{The ruling states that aboriginal Bands deserve ‘equal rights’ to other Canadian landowners; yet, all other landowners have to document and prove their ownership…}
“Simply claiming aboriginal title is now enough to bring forward litigation against private parties — litigation that was previously only brought against provincial and federal governments”,
said Ravina Bains, study author and associate director of ‘aboriginal policy studies’ at the Fraser Institute.”
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/economic-development-projects-in-jeopardy.pdf
“The case involves Rio Tinto’s Kenney Dam, which has operated for more than 60 years on the Nechako River in northeastern British Columbia.
“The Saik’uz {a ‘nation’ of 956 people} and Stellat’en {a ‘nation’ of 540 people} ‘First Nations’, who have not proven aboriginal title to the land in question, claim the dam is causing significant environmental harm to the river and thus negatively affecting their fishing resource.
“The Supreme Court upheld the earlier B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that the two ‘First Nations’ could move forward with the complaint asserting—for the first time—that aboriginal title does not have to be proven before bringing a claim against a private party for damages {Which is, of course, ridiculous. Just how illogical will the legal industry get in its pursuit of profit? Stay tuned…}.
“According to the study, the court decision will not only put established projects at risk, but put a chill on new economic development projects and create further uncertainty for ‘First Nations’ pursuing clarity on aboriginal title.
“Previous claims of aboriginal title have always been brought against the Crown, yet this unprecedented ruling exposes private parties to litigation even when, like in Rio Tinto’s case, the private company is operating under provincial government license on land it bought from the government in the 1950s”,
Bains said.
“With an increase in litigation, this ruling could put all current and future economic development projects in jeopardy especially in provinces such as British Columbia, where more than 100% of the province is currently under claim by ‘First Nations’.”
–‘Unprecedented aboriginal title court decision exposes private parties to litigation previously only brought against governments’,
Fraser Institute, November 17, 2015
http://www.mining.com/web/unprecedented-aboriginal-title-court-decision-exposes-private-parties-to-litigation-previously-only-brought-against-governments
From April:
“Two B.C. ‘First Nations’ will be able to take their claims against ‘Rio Tinto Alcan’ to trial, the ‘B.C. Court of Appeal’ has ruled.
“An attempt by the the Saik’uz and Stellat’en ‘First Nations’ to sue the company for nuisance and breach of riparian rights with respect to the Kenney Dam and Alcan Reservoir had hit a roadblock when A LOWER COURT THREW OUT THEIR LAWSUIT.
“But that was overturned Wednesday…”
–‘Appeals court breathes new life into lawsuit against Rio Tinto Alcan’,
Mark NIELSEN, Prince George Citizen, April 15, 2015
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/appeals-court-breathes-new-life-into-lawsuit-against-rio-tinto-alcan-1.1824596
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COMMENT: “It’s ironic that this decision was made on the basis of “equal rights” when in fact, aboriginals have ‘rights’ over and above the average Canadian citizen. Our courts jump back and forth on this, depending on what ‘logic’ is necessary for the expansion of the ‘Aboriginal Industry’ and the resulting profits for legal firms. It’s a sad fact that our legal profession has undermined the principle of equal rights in pursuit of the almighty dollar. There has never been a legal goldmine to equal so-called ‘aboriginal rights’. Unfortunately for the rest of us, a nation without true legal equality is a nation doomed to division and resentment…” 
‘Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies – 2014’
“BC dropped in the rankings by 10 positions, coming in at an overall ranking of 42nd and having the worst performance of any Canadian jurisdiction on policy alone. The two policy areas significantly hampering BC are uncertainty concerning disputed land claims and uncertainty over which areas will be protected. The sum of negative responses for these two policy factors was 73% and 77% of respondents respectively. These scores likely reflect the ongoing tensions in the province over land title issues.”
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/survey-of-mining-companies-2014.pdf
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IMAGE: Canadian Press
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See also:
‘Canadian Courts Making Things Worse’ {October 14, 2015}:
“When it comes to Race Based Law, Canadian courts – in particular, the Supreme Court of Canada – have been continually extending their reach. The resulting confusion has produced a continual increase in court cases while, at the same time, discouraging investment. This is a bad deal for Canadians on both counts {steering financial resources away from economic development, and towards economically-unproductive law firms} and, unless we change direction, it’s bound to get worse.”
https://endracebasedlaw.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/canadian-courts-making-things-worse/ 
‘Exploration Company Pushes Back’ {October 6, 2015}:
“The race-based ‘parallel government’ structure that our courts and aboriginal leadership are imposing on Canada has screwed around yet another mining company, and they’re fighting back.”
https://endracebasedlaw.wordpress.com/2015/10/06/exploration-company-pushes-back/
‘All Is Not Well In B.C.’ {September 19, 2015}:
“The first issue is a governance question. Are British Columbians to be ruled by a government (in this case, the Sechelt ‘First Nation’…) in which we have no vote or voice? This is basic and an affront to democracy.”
https://endracebasedlaw.wordpress.com/2015/09/19/all-is-not-well-in-b-c/
https://endracebasedlaw.com/petition
mail to: endracebasedlawpetition@gmail.com
Post also at:
END RACE BASED LAW inc. Canada FEATURE STORIES 