Supreme Court of Canada to hear AMC argue First Nations laws must be recognized in dealing with climate change
February 26, 2020
Treaty One Territory, Manitoba
alexpapineau
Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba – On March 24 and 25, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) will be intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada in a significant and potentially transformational hearing. AMC is the only Intervenor to argue that First Nation constitutional orders are distinct but equal to Euro-Canadian laws.
On the surface, the case is about the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the federal government’s carbon tax, and whether it intrudes on provincial jurisdiction. The Act was dealt a blow on Monday, February 24, 2020 when The Court of Appeal of Alberta ruled the carbon tax is unconstitutional, on the grounds that it intrudes on provincial jurisdiction.
However, neither the federal nor provincial governments acknowledge the existence of First Nations laws. The AMC, represented by the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), will argue that the Supreme Court has a unique opportunity to address a much deeper reality.