Municipal Monitor - January/February 2008 - (Page 8)

Building Bridges By Sarah B. Hood The evolving relationship between Ontario municipalities and First Nations I n 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a ruling in the case of the Haida Nation v. the British Columbia Minister of Forests that found the province to have certain obligations to the Haida while their outstanding land claim was being resolved. In 2006, the Supreme Court came to a similar conclusion regarding treaty rights of the Mikisew Cree First Nation and Parks Canada. “What has emerged from these two cases has been called the Obligation to Consult and Accommodate,” says Paul Williams, lawyer for several indigenous nations. “In simple terms, where the Crown is proposing to deal with a matter that is either the subject of a claim of aboriginal or treaty or statutory rights, or a matter that is provided for in a treaty, the Crown must consult with the Aboriginal Peoples who made the claim, or who hold the right.” “Engagement in consultation with Aboriginal Peoples should be a part of a municipality’s regular business.” the Local Government Policy Branch with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing. There are notable examples of municipalities where a process of consultation has led to very positive results. For instance, when workers on the Teston Road project in the City of Vaughan discovered what appeared to be human remains, the Regional Municipality of York acted very quickly. “As soon as we made the discovery, we contacted York Region Police,” says Stephen Collins, Manager, Engineering for the Regional Municipality of York. “Once they concluded that this was a very old burial, the issue had to be dealt with under our Cemeteries Act. We also, as part of the project, had an archeologist who had done work ahead of the construction; we contacted him before the police had even finished their Both federal and provincial governments are now explicitly legally bound to consult on certain issues with aboriginal governments within their jurisdictions, but municipalities are not. However, “We feel strongly that engagement in consultation with Aboriginal Peoples should be a part of a municipality’s regular business. They are often participants in the local economy and community investment and growth, so it just makes sense,” says Ralph Walton, Director of 8 • municipal MONITOR January/February 2008 Photo © istockphoto.com/Clayton Hansen Municipal Perspective http://istockphoto.com/Clayton

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Municipal Monitor - January/February 2008

Municipal Monitor - January/February 2008 Contents President’s Message: Recognizing Achievement Viewpoint: Increasing Voter Turnout Building Bridges The Municipal Buddy System Harnessing the Wind Water Under the Bridge Municipal Memos Index to Advertisers

Municipal Monitor - January/February 2008

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