Calder v British Columbia (AG)

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Calder v British Columbia (AG) [1973] S.C.R. 313, [1973] 4 W.W.R. 1 was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. It was the first time that Canadian law acknowledged that aboriginal title to land existed prior to the colonization of the continent and was not merely derived from statutory law.

In 1969, Frank Arthur Calder and the Nisga'a Nation Tribal Council brought an action against the British Columbia government for a declaration that aboriginal title to certain lands in the province had never been lawfully extinguished.

At trial and on appeal, the courts found that if there ever was aboriginal title in the land it was surely extinguished.

The Supreme Court found that there was indeed an aboriginal right to land that existed at the time of the Royal Proclamation of 1763. However, the Court was split 3 to 3 on whether the claim to land was valid. The Attorney-General claimed that though title existed, it had been extinguished by virtue of the government's exercise of control over the lands. The Nisga'a would have more be done to show extinguishment.

Aftermath

With this decision the government of Canada overhauled much of the land claim negotiation process with aboriginal peoples. The basis for aboriginal title was later expanded on in Guerin v. The Queen, [1984] 2 S.C.R. 335, Delgamuukw v. British Columbia [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1010. DC, and most recently in Tsilhqot'in Nation v British Columbia, [2014] 2 SCR 257, 2014 SCC 44 (CanLII).

The case for the Nisga'a was argued by Thomas Berger, subsequently Mr. Justice Thomas Berger, in his first major advocacy role in Canadian Aboriginal law.

See also

• R. v. Sparrow
• A. i. Rivera
• B. a. Gonzalez

External links

• Full text of Supreme Court of Canada decision at LexUM and CanLII
• case summary

Canadian Indigenous law
Politics, law and legislation	Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada The Canadian Crown and Indigenous peoples Canadian Indian residential school system High Arctic relocation Fred Quilt inquiry Ipperwash Crisis
Indigenous law	Royal Proclamation of 1763 Constitution Act, 1867 Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 Douglas Treaties Robinson Treaty 1969 White Paper Kelowna Accord Numbered Treaties Indian Act Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples First Nations treaties in British Columbia Indian Health Transfer Policy Duty to consult and accommodate Gladue report
Case law	Attorney General of Canada v. Lavell R. v. Badger Calder v. British Columbia Chippewas of Sarnia Band v. Canada Corbiere v. Canada Daniels v. Canada Delgamuukw v. British Columbia Native Women's Association of Canada v. Canada Kruger and al. v. The Queen R. v. Marshall; R. v. Bernard R. v. Marshall Mitchell v. M.N.R. Paul v. British Columbia Paulette Caveat Powley ruling R. v. Drybones R. v. Gladstone R. v. Gladue R. v. Gonzales R. v. Guerin R. v. Jim R. v. Pamajewon R. v. Sparrow Re Eskimos St. Catharines Milling and Lumber Co. v. R. R. v. Van der Peet Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia Daniels v. Canada
International rights & laws	Definitions and identity of indigenous peoples Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Indigenous intellectual property
See also Index of articles related to Indigenous Canadians