The Duty to Consult: New Relationships with Aboriginal Peoples

Dwight G. Newman

Oct 2009 · UBC Press

About this ebook

Canada’s Supreme Court has established a new legal framework requiring governments to consult with Aboriginal peoples when contemplating actions that may affect their rights. Professor Newman examines Supreme Court and lower court decisions, legislation at various levels, policies developed by governments and Aboriginal communities, and consultative round tables that have been held to deal with important questions regarding this duty. He succinctly examines issues such as: when is consultation required; who is to be consulted; what is the nature of a “good” consultation; to what extent does the duty apply in treaty areas; and what duty is owed to Métis and non-status Indians? Newman also examines the philosophical underpinnings of the duty to consult, and the evolving framework in international law and similar developments in Australia.

About the author

Dwight Newman is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Saskatchewan, where he also served as Associate Dean of Law from 2006 to 2009. He is also an Honourary Senior Research Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Law in South Africa. He completed his law degree at the University of Saskatchewan, following which he served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Lamer and Justice LeBel at the Supreme Court of Canada. He completed his doctorate at Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and as a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow. He has written numerous articles on Aboriginal law, constitutional law, and international law, and he is co-author of Understanding Property: A Guide to Canada’s Property Law, 2nd ed.