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Distributed for Purich Publishing

The Honour and Dishonour of the Crown

Making Sense of Aboriginal Law in Canada

In Canada, the fundamentals of law relating to Aboriginal peoples are unclear and Indigenous communities lack appropriate guidance in terms of efficiently accessing the legal system to address breaches of their rights. This is yet another injustice endured by Aboriginal peoples in Canada. However, the Supreme Court of Canada has begun to place greater emphasis on the honour-of-the-Crown principle and less on the paternalistic, complex notion that governments owe a fiduciary duty to Aboriginal peoples. Dickson explores both theoretical and practical implications of this fundamental shift and possible future outcomes.

160 pages | © 2015


Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

I: Introduction

II: The Honour of the Crown Principle

a. The “honour of the Crown” prior to Haida Nation

b. The “honour of the Crown” as reimagined in Haida Nation

c. The “honour of the Crown” as applied after Haida Nation

III: Conventional Fiduciary Law

a. Function of fiduciary accountability

b. Content of fiduciary duties

c. Contexts in which fiduciary duties arise

IV: Fiduciary Law as Applied, Nonconventionally, in Crown/Aboriginal Contexts

a. Function of Crown/Aboriginal fiduciary accountability

b. Content of Crown/Aboriginal fiduciary duties

c. Contexts in which Crown/Aboriginal fiduciary duties arise

V: Crown/Aboriginal Fiduciary Doctrine as a “Mistake”

VI: The New Face of Aboriginal Law in Canada

a. Central role of the honour of the Crown principle

b. Limited role for Crown/Aboriginal fiduciary duties

i. Conventional Crown/Aboriginal fiduciary accountability

ii. Nonconventional Crown/Aboriginal fiduciary accountability

c. Practical implications of replacing the “Crown as fiduciary” concept with the “honour of the Crown” principle

d. The significance of the mandate to “reconcile” Crown and Aboriginal interests

VII: Conclusion

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