Indigenous Law

In the ever-changing and evolving area of Indigenous law, clients need solid, practical advice to help them navigate the legal and regulatory challenges that inevitably arise. As a leader in the field, Lawson Lundell’s Indigenous Law Group provides support to clients in all areas of Indigenous law and in all regions of Canada.

The Indigenous Law Group is one of the largest and most experienced in western and northern Canada. Members in Vancouver, Calgary and Yellowknife provide legal advice to a wide variety of private and public sector clients, including clients involved in energy (hydroelectric power generation, conventional oil and gas and oil sands producers), pulp and paper, forest harvesting, mining, aquaculture, transportation (railways, public transit, marine transportation and port facilities) and real estate development. We also provide advice on commercial matters to Indigenous organizations and development corporations, particularly in northern Canada.

Defending Clients’ Interests

We have represented resource-sector clients in the defence of challenges brought by Indigenous groups before regulatory tribunals and courts at all levels, including decisions by the Supreme Court of Canada. We continue today to represent clients in precedent-setting Indigenous rights litigation and other Indigenous law matters before the courts and regulatory tribunals. We work with resource sector clients to defend their interests in disputes between Indigenous communities and governments related to the Crown’s duty to consult.

Facilitating Agreements and Approvals

Our clients generally prefer that their projects and operations not be the basis for precedent-setting litigation. Some of our more significant recent successes have avoided that. We have assisted our clients behind the scenes in developing strategic approaches to alternative dispute resolution and consultations with Indigenous groups, and negotiation of agreements and other arrangements aimed at accommodating the groups’ concerns and interests. The result has been that Indigenous issues have not been determining factors in project approval processes for recent large resource development projects. We work with our clients to help them build collaborative relationships with Indigenous communities, to facilitate project approval processes, successful project construction and operations, and sustainable joint business ventures.

Our group members understand our clients’ industries and their business objectives. We ensure that our advice on Indigenous matters is tailored to helping our clients achieve their business objectives.

Experience

Members of our group have:

• Helped a diamond producer negotiate impact benefits agreements with Indigenous groups and successfully address Indigenous issues in the regulatory approvals for a major diamond mine in the Northwest Territories
• Assisted a mining company in British Columbia in negotiating agreements with a First Nation to facilitate project development, and then successfully represented the mining company in removing legal and physical roadblocks raised by dissident members of the First Nation
• Represented an Alberta oil sands developer in defending a court challenge to the Government of Alberta’s Indigenous consultation guidelines
• Helped an Alberta oil sands developer successfully address Indigenous and regulatory issues related to a $600 million in-situ oil sands project, with the result that no regulatory hearing was required prior to project approval
• Represented a territorial government in precedent-setting litigation in the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the Crown’s duty to consult under modern land claims agreements
• Represented oil and gas producers in precedent-setting litigation in the Federal Court of Appeal regarding the Crown’s duty to consult in respect of regulatory approvals
• Advised oil and gas companies on Indigenous issues related to exploration and development activities in Alberta, northeast British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the Northwest Territories
• Advised a mining company on Indigenous and regulatory requirements related for a project in Nunavut
• Represented a client whose property was the subject of a specific claim in New Brunswick between a First Nation and the Government of Canada
• Helped a national railway company negotiate 14 ground-breaking property taxation agreements with B.C. First Nations, including the negotiation of the Property Assessment and Taxation (Railway Right-of-way) Regulations under the Indian Act
• Helped major forestry companies in B.C. successfully respond to appeals by Indigenous groups of pest management plans, forest development plans and other operational matters
• Acted for a major aquaculture company in responding to judicial review proceedings brought by Indigenous groups on B.C.’s coast
• Acted for a public utility in large-scale litigation in the defense of claims brought by Indigenous groups over the impact of the construction and operation of hydro-electric generation facilities

We have also assisted indigenous organizations with a range of commercial matters including:

• Advising an Indigenous development corporation on structuring its participation in a major northern natural gas pipeline proposed for the Northwest Territories
• Advising Indigenous governments and organizations on labour and employment matters, including wrongful dismissals claims and drug testing policies
• Advising Indigenous organizations in the Northwest Territories with respect to the formation of limited partnerships and other business organizations, and related tax matters
• Advising Indigenous organizations in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut with respect to the formation of joint ventures with non-aboriginal businesses
• Advising an Indigenous organization on acquisition of real estate investments; and
• Providing legal support to an Indigenous group in the Northwest Territories in self-government negotiations

Team