History Of The Calder Case

The journey for the Aboriginals to receive the right to keep and negotiate land claims with the Canadian government was long but prosperous. Before the 1970's the federal government chose not to preform their responsibilities involving Aboriginal issues, this created an extremely inefficient way for the Aboriginals to deal with their land right problems. The land claims created by the Canadian government benefited the aboriginals as shown through the Calder Case, the creation of the Office of Native Claims and the policy of Outstanding Business.

The Calder Case was the spark that led to the Canadian government recognizing Aboriginals and their rights. Firstly, the aboriginals used the Calder Case to inform the government that they were taking away their rights. The Calder Case was launched after the Attorney General of British Columbia declared “that the Aboriginal Title, other wise known as the Indian Title, of the Plaintiffs to their ancient tribal territory...has never been lawfully extinguished.”1 The statement made by the government claimed that the Aboriginal Title did not exist in the eyes of the law and before the Calder Case, it allowed them to ignore Aboriginal land rights all over the country. In addition, The Calder brought the issues the Aboriginals were facing with land claims to the attention of the Canadian government. “According to Kainai Board of Education The case made it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada where the court ended up rejecting the native's claims after being split on it's validity. However, the Supreme Court of Canada's recognition required new respect for Aboriginal land claims.”2 The Supreme Court of Canada's recognition of the Calder Case benefited the Aboriginals as the government was...

... middle of paper ...

...t led to their rights being acknowledged in the Canadian law. Their rights including land claims could no longer be repelled or ignored by the federal government. The Policy of Outstanding Business was a huge breakthrough for Aboriginals as they were able to have their needs taken care of, receive full benefits in claims and became recognized in the Court of law.

The conclude, the government of Canada finally recognized the concerns of the Aboriginals during the Calder Case, created more efficient negotiation of land claims by creating the Office of Native Claims and creating a clear process on dealing with land claims thr9ough the Policy on Outstanding Business. Through the Calder Case, the creation of the Office of Native Claims, and the policy of Outstanding Business, the Aboriginals in Canada benefited greatly through the land claims set by the government.