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ARTICLE · 04 APRIL 2025

Supreme Court Finds That Aboriginal Claims With Overlapping Aspects Not Abuse Of Process

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The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Saskatchewan (Environment) v. Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2025 SCC 4 clarifies that Aboriginal peoples are free to challenge specific Crown decisions...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Paul Seaman
Paul Seaman
Sebastian Ennis-Brown
Sebastian Ennis-Brown
Wynona Klemt
Wynona Klemt
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The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Saskatchewan (Environment) v. Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2025 SCC 4 clarifies that Aboriginal peoples are free to challenge specific Crown decisions impacting their asserted rights on the basis of failed Crown consultation, even if a broader court action looking to substantively establish the rights at issue remains unresolved, or even in a procedurally dormant state. In turn, the Crown cannot avoid consultation regarding asserted title or rights simply because no final judicial decision on those title or rights has been rendered.

The procedural guidance provided in this decision is consistent with the Supreme Court's existing jurisprudence, which holds that the duty to consult is a mechanism intended to operate in the time frame between the assertion and final determination of claims. A substantive claim relating to the specific asserted rights at issue therefore need not be brought, let alone successfully concluded,

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