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ARTICLE · 17 APRIL 2024

SCC Upholds Self-governing First Nation's Residency Requirement For Elected Councillors

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Charter applies to Nation but Section 25 gives collective rights primacy over individual rights.

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Jessica Buhler
Jessica Buhler
Meaghan Conroy
Meaghan Conroy
Amyn F. Lalji
Amyn F. Lalji
Erica Klassen
Erica Klassen
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Charter applies to Nation but Section 25 gives collective rights primacy over individual rights.

On March 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision in Dickson v Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. The Court dismissed Cindy Dickson's Charter challenge to the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) requirement that Chief and Council reside on the Nation's settlement lands.

The SCC's decision was split three ways. Five out of seven justices agreed that Ms. Dickson's appeal should be dismissed but came to that conclusion in different ways. The majority decided that the Charter applied to VGFN's government but that the residency requirement was protected by section 25 of the Charter. Section 25 protected the VGFN government's collective right to require that their Chief and Council reside in their traditional territory – a practice which is rooted in Vuntut Gwitchin culture and tradition.

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