GOING BACK TO THE TABLE, SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER

Via mediascout. com

The Globe goes inside with a BC court’s ruling in favour of a First Nations land claim. Although the court stopped short of handing the Xeni Gwet'in people a complete victory in their seventeen-year legal battle with the provincial government, the ruling vindicated the aboriginal title over 45 percent of the 440,000 hectares claimed. The court, however, made its ruling non-binding and recommended that the lengthy, detailed decision serve as the basis for good faith negotiations between the government and First Nation—going so far as to state that it was always their hope that the parties would come to an agreement. The native band plans to ask the government to adopt the ruling as a settlement, to eliminate the need for more litigation. Regardless of the specifics, the band chief sees the ruling as a landmark that positions his people to exercise control over the business and development that takes place on their lands. Though both the federal and provincial governments declined to comment on the ruling’s implication, according to aboriginal-law expert Robert Janes, the court’s decision strengthens the negotiating hand of First Nations.