No Logging Rights for Maritime First Nation

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled today that the Mi’kmaq do not have the right within their eigthteenth century treaty to log Crown land. Because the Mi’kmaq did not prove they had logged Crown-controlled land at the time of their treaty, their claims were denied. CBC.ca carries the story and this quotation is from it:

In a pair of unanimous decisions, the court found that treaties signed in 1760-61 only granted the Mi’kmaq the right to continue trade in items traditionally traded at that time.

The court said there was no evidence to prove the Mi’kmaq were logging 250 years ago when they signed the treaties with the Crown.

“In order to be protected under those treaties, trade in forest products must be the modern equivalent or a logical evolution of Mi’kmaq use of forest products at the time the treaties were signed,” the court wrote.

These rulings are likely to have implications for First Nations in many parts of Canada. BC native leaders have said on local Vancouver-area radio, however, that the decisions are unlikely to affect BC First Nations since most BC native groups have not signed treaties and court decisions exist in BC stating that governments must consult with natives over the use of forest resources.

For background and news stories concerning this decision from last week, see here, here, and here. I’ll post more stories and the court decision itself when they appear.

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