This is the last in a four-part series of commentary on the
Superior Court of Quebec's recent decision in R. c.
Montour, 2023 QCCS 4154 ("Montour"). This
part focuses on the Court's finding of a treaty right to a
"conflict-resolution procedure" protected by section 35
of the Constitution Act, 1982; how it can be extended to
other historic treaties made in similar contexts; and how this
renewed reading of treaties breathes life into Indigenous
peoples' right to self-determination in Canadian law.
A treaty right to conflict-resolution mechanisms
The Court found that a series of ten historic agreements made
between the British Crown and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy,
including the Mohawk, from 1664 to 1760, together with and as part
of a Covenant Chain, guaranteed the Mohawks' Aboriginal and
treaty rights to free trade of tobacco and to discuss any issues
related to the tobacco trade with the Crown. The Crown infringed
these rights by imposing a rigid licensing scheme
