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Nation & Provinces
The Vancouver Sun - Wednesday, June 18, 1997 A3
Indian rights no threat to B.C., top court told
Recognition of aboriginal title would lead to resolution of historic injustices, lawyers say.
Peter O’Neil
Don’t believe the gloom-and-doom scenarios of governments and big resource companies who say a broad definition of aboriginal rights will destroy B.C.’s non-native-Indian economy, the Supreme Court of Canada was told Tuesday.
Recognition of native title would lead to negotiation and resolution of historic injustices, and would be the equivalent of a landmark U.S. court decision 43 years ago that ordered the end of racial segregation, lawyers for the Gitksan and Wet’suwet’en people argued…
The final day of a crucial two-day hearing into native claims to 57,000 square kilometres in northwestern BC took on a political atmosphere. Lawyers for both sides made sweeping generalizations about their adversaries positions.
Gitxsan lawyer Peter Grant passionately urged the judges to follow the lead of Australia’s High Court, which made an historic recognition of aboriginal rights in 1992 that led to sweeping and controversial legislation in 1993 expanding native land rights.,,
Chief Justice Antonio Lamer was left poking and prodding Tuesday for a compromise ruling that would both respect the law and give some motive for native and non-native reconciliation at the negotiating table – a constant theme of lawyers for both sides…
…The court is expected to rule in six to 12 months.
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