Case Commentary: First Nation Of Nacho Nyak Dun v. Yukon, 2017 SCC 58

Introduction

The Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan, which has been in the works for almost a decade, received a major setback on December 1 with the Supreme Court of Canada's ("SCC") judgement in First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun v. Yukon. The SCC quashed the Government of Yukon's ("Yukon") approval of the Final Recommended Plan because it acted in a manner "not becoming of the honour of the Crown"¹ by failing to follow the collaborative planning process required by modern treaty. As Yukon conceded that it "did not respect the land use plan approval process set out in the Final Agreements"², the SCC was required to determine: (1) whether Yukon's decision to approve its land use plan is legal and (2) the role of the courts in resolving disputes that arise in the context of treaty implementation.