Incredibly grim numbers out of Manitoba where in 2008-2009, 71% of inmates in provincial facilities were Aboriginal while constituting only 12% of the province’s overall population.
Here’s a short article.
Author: Peter Vicaire
2.7 Billion Dollar Class Action Moves Forward For Some Aboriginals in Canada
In light of last month’s Bill C-3 Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act getting royal assent, 45,000 eligible grandchildren of women who last their Indian status by “marrying out,” will be entitled to receiving that status.
And now they’re seeking compensation for 26 years of paid taxes, medical expenses, lost educational benefits, etc.
The Merchant Law Group LLP, which played a major role in the 2007 Residential School Settlement Agreement, is handling the class action.
Here’s one take on the story.
Tax Court of Canada dismisses Aboriginal appeals to taxation of employment income
The Tax Court of Canada recently released Hester v. The Queen, which addressed the issue of tax exemptions for Aboriginals working off the reserve for an employer located on a reserve. The two Aboriginal appellants (Joseph Hester and Mildred Bondy) argued that:
(1) in interpreting the phrase “situated on a reserve” in subsection 87(1) of the Indian Act, employment income is situate where the employer is located.
(2) the “connecting factor” analysis (as laid out in Williams v. The Queen, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 877) was intended to have limited analysis and does not apply to employment income.
Anishnawbe Kwe Woman Denies Canadian Citizenship in Court – Still Has to Pay Canadian Taxes
Julie Pigeon, from Batchewana First Nation in Ontario was not successful in her attempt to avoid paying taxes to the Canadian government.
The case is here.
The Minister of National Revenue reassessed Pigeon’s tax liability for her income on the basis that her salary for the years in question was not the personal property of an Indian situated on a reserve (she lived off the reserve) within the meaning of section 87 of the Indian Act and — therefore — she was not exempt from income tax by any other enactment of Parliament within the meaning of paragraph 81(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act
Deputy Judge Rowe of the Tax Court of Canada noted that she hadn’t served the required notice on the Attorney General of Canada and on each Attorney General of the Provinces prior to her attack on the constitutional validity of the particular provision of the Act.
Interestingly, other than reading a written statement in court, Ms. Pigeon did not call any evidence.
Her statement is provided below, in its entirety.
Canada v. Vautour: No Métis in the Maritimes
Here’s an interesting case ([2010] N.B.J. No. 392) out of New Brunswick which discusses what it means to be (or not to be, that is the question) a recognizable Métis community.
Official Announcement of U.S. Support for the UNDRIP
Here it is.
Thanks to Brent Leonhard for sending this our way!
Nations, and Tribes, and Bands, oh my!
A decision released last week, KwicksutaineukAh-Kwa-Mish First Nation v. British Columbia, provides an interesting look at the process for certification of a class action when there are small, numerous, aboriginal collectives involved.
2 Métis hunters failed to prove “existing” aboriginal right – convicted by the Alberta Provincial Court
With R. v. Hirsekorn, the Métis Nation of Alberta put into a motion a test case to force the province into negotiating a new Métis harvesting agreement. Two men, Jones and Hirsekorn, invited enforcement officers to their kill sites (a deer and an antelope) and the defendants were charged accordingly. One of the defendants (Jones ) died after the trial but before this judgment was released.
Hirsekorn was convicted of shooting wildlife outside of regular season and possession of wildlife without a permit.
Supreme Court of Canada – application for leave to appeal dismissed for 3 bands
Apparently, the Supreme Court of Canada has had its fill of “duty to consult” cases. After November’s Little Salmon/Carmacks and October’s Rio Tinto cases, the SC recently dismissed three applications for leave to appeal.
Falling squarely into the “better posted late than never” category, on December 2nd, 3 Saskatchewan bands (Sweetgrass, Moosomin, and Standing Buffalo Dakota) were denied access to the Supreme Court.
Their complaint was rooted in the belief that the National Energy Board failed to properly consult with them before three pipelines were built on land they claimed was theirs.
Here’s the one size fits all dismissal.
Aboriginal-hating, white Supremacist, neo-Nazi found not in contempt of court for flaunting a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal’s Order.
Here’s an interesting case out of the Federal Court in Victoria B.C. It’s apparent that the judge was pretty reluctant to let this guy off, but ultimately the offender pulled the old, “got off on a technicality” trick. Classic. Aside from its tangential aboriginal connection, it’s also a case which illuminates some interesting differences in the United States and Canada concerning freedom of speech.
Turtle Talk 
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