Description
(Text)
Chief Crowfoot's plea in 1877 "Take pity on me withregard to ...the waters...and do not take them frommyself and my children for ever," indicates that hehad no intention of relinquishing their title to thelands and waters of their traditional territories. For this reason, project proponents that haveobtained water licences under Alberta's current waterregulations cannot be certain of their tenures.Aboriginal legal issues dominate the list of majorrisks facing industry in Alberta, Canada regardingproject development associated with water. This bookexplains that Aboriginal and treaty rights to waterhave not been extinguished by any Crown legislationor policy. Aboriginal and treaty water rights areprotected by the Natural Resources TransferAgreement, 1930 and s.35 of the CanadianConstitution. Because Alberta's legal regime andconsultation policies circumvent the treatyrelationship between the Crown and First Nations,they are vulnerable to constitutional challenge. This in-depth analysis will be especially useful toFirst Nations, legal practitioners, industry, andgovernment executives who need to understand themeaning of Indian treaties and the duty to consult.
(Author portrait)
Beisel Vivienne Vivienne G. Beisel, B.A., LL.B., LL.M.: Studied at theUniversity of Saskatchewan. Practices law in Alberta and teachesat the University of Calgary, Alberta.
