To Treaty or Not to Treaty? Aboriginal Peoples and Comprehensive Land Claims Negotiations in Canada

Abstract

Although the federal comprehensive land claims (CLC) process has become an almost hegemonic paradigm of government-Aboriginal relations in Canada, this article argues that Aboriginal groups should consider abandoning the CLC process if they have not been able to make significant progress towards completing treaties. Previously, many Aboriginal groups had no better option but to negotiate CLC treaties to achieve their goals. Now, however, a number of institutional developments have given Aboriginal groups a range of other options that are worth pursuing instead of CLC treaties. These developments are: Two judicial decisions handed down in 2004 and the emergence of three policy instruments outside of the treaty process: Self-government agreements, bilateral agreements, and the First Nations Land Management Act.