Sustainable development: perspectives from Canadian jurisprudence on First Nations' Aboriginal rights and title

Abstract

First Nations across Canada have been in the courts for generations to protect their lands and societies. It will be argued in this paper that the resulting sui generis instantiation of Aboriginal title formulated in the courts reflects some of the more challenging aspects of sustainable development discourse. In this paper key Canadian court decisions will be examined to illustrate how the courts have addressed aspects of sustainable development in Aboriginal rights and title litigation, which are traditionally difficult to measure and implement. Indeed, these cases provide a window into how courts may implement sustainable development goals if these considerations become integrated into broader legal determinations, and provide insight what may become expected if deep sustainable development becomes accepted into dominant domestic legal and political systems.