June Callwood Program in Aboriginal Law Fellowship
Pape Salter Teillet
As a recipient of the June Callwood Fellowship for Aboriginal students, I have had the opportunity to work with Pape Salter Teillet in their Toronto office this summer. The experience thus far has been invaluable. As a Metis who has had difficulty becoming part of a Metis community, working with this law firm has, more than any other experience, opened me up to the issues that are central to Metis and Aboriginal cultures. Furthermore, it has exposed me to leaders in a nationwide movement for our rights. Jean Teillet, the great grandniece of Louis Riel and a champion of Metis rights, is my direct supervisor. She is perhaps most known for her victory at the Supreme Court of Canada in the R. v. Powley case, where Metis harvesting rights were confirmed and a test was set out for defining the Metis community.
In terms of my experience at the firm, I have worked on a diversity of projects with Jean and with other partners of the firm. With Rick Salter's guidance, I have had the opportunity to do research on the Crown Forest Sustainability Act and what power its provisions give to sivicultural operations who log on traditional Aboriginal land. This project led to an exploration of the licencing scheme that forestry companies must abide by. I discovered that these companies, by virtue of the government's fiduciary duty to First Nations that is part of the forest licencing scheme, must consult with and provide opportunities to Aboriginals whose land is affected by forest harvesting activities.
Most importantly, I felt empowered by this research because at first it was very difficult to understand, but with patience and time, it became clearer. The firm partners were very helpful in answering my questions, giving me a flexible time frame, and allowing me to find my own method in solving problems. In the end, the research was used to assist a First Nation. The experience of being committed to a project that has many obstacles, with an outcome that helps the people we represent, was unforgettable and has cemented my commitment to the study of law.
More recently, I had the opportunity to travel with Jean Teillet and Jason Madden to North Bay for the ruling of the R. v. Laurin case. This case deals with Metis harvesters who were granted harvesting cards by the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO). The MNO had signed onto an Interim Harvesting Agreement with the government of Ontario, which allowed them to issue these cards. This agreement was meant to be the implementation of the Powley decision, which confirms Metis rights to harvest. The accused in the case were holders of cards pursuant to the agreement, but were still charged by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for fishing without licences. Jean and Jason were council for the accused, and they won the case.
This was my first experience in court, and I was very grateful for the opportunity to be part of an important win for the Metis. I was especially impressed by the sensitivity that Jean and Jason demonstrated towards the community they represent. The Metis are a very community-oriented people; Jean and Jason recognize this fact and are members of the community themselves. Consequently, they held public meetings to debrief the community immediately after the trial to explain the ruling and its potential impact upon them. Their capacity to serve their clients and their ability to rearticulate the law into more tangible words is inspiring. Through my exposure to such practices, I feel as though I have started to develop a sense that I want to be closely involved with my clients in the future. In other words, I have begun to see law as a social and political mechanism that can galvanize those to whom it rightly serves justice. As such, the law is not simply an intellectual debate in the court room, and in fact the court represents very little of what goes on in a case. Thus, I want to learn more about the law as a holistic practice, and I could not be in a better place to do it.
Other projects that I have worked on are First Nation's policing issues, the update of the Metis Law Summary, and a comprehensive research project on the extinguishment of aboriginal rights. I am unendingly grateful for the opportunity to work with such supportive supervisors, to have been exposed so extensively to Metis legal issues (which are often lacking in the courses at university), and to have been given the experience of making real changes in the lives of our people.
