The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision today in
Grassy Narrows First Nation v. Ontario (Natural
Resources), 2014 SCC 48 [referred to as Keewatin, in
the courts below]. In a unanimous decision, the SCC dismissed the
appeal and confirmed the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision
that Ontario, not Canada, has the jurisdiction to take up land in
Treaty 3.
The immediate reaction has been a lot of disappointment about
the state of Canadian law that is reflected in this decision.
Background of the case
This claim began in 2005 by Grassy Narrows First Nation and
trappers from the First Nation launching an action to have a
forestry licence that was issued by Ontario set aside. The basis
for that action was that the forestry licence violated Treaty 3
harvesting rights. The action was split into two parts. The first
part to be determined included two questions: (1) does Ontario have
the authority to take up tracts of land in what is referred to as
the Keewatin
