Aboriginal Law

The new issue of the University of Toronto Law Journal (Volume 68 Issue 3, summer 2018 ) is a special issue on Indigenous Law. The four articles in this special feature include Prof. Douglas Sanderson's "The residue of imperium: Property and sovereignty on Indigenous lands."

The Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto is developing a comprehensive response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.  Recognizing that there is no single response to the Calls to Action, we are implementing a multifaceted approach.

In a commentary in the Globe and Mail, Amanda Carling, manager of the Indigenous Initiatives Office, highlights the issue of innocent people – a disproportionate number of them First Nations, Inuit and Métis people – pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit ("Pleading guilty when innocent: A truth for too many Indigenous people," May 23, 2018).

Read the full commentary on the Globe and Mail website, or below.

In a commentary in Policy Options, Prof. Douglas Sanderson says that in the future, Indigenous confederacies that exercise self-government and have taxation power could also be part of the larger equalization system ("A federal equalization program that includes First Nations," May 16, 2018).

In a commentary in the Ottawa Citizen, Prof. Kent Roach argues that the federal government's proposal in Bill C-75 to eliminate peremptory challenges in jury selection is an important first step towards ensuring representative juries ("Ending peremptory challenges in jury selection is a good first step," April 2, 2018).

Read the full commentary on the Ottawa Citizen website, or below.

Colten Boushie in a photo posted Nov. 6, 2011 (photo via Facebook)

By Geoffrey Vendeville

The verdict in the Colten Boushie case has provoked outrage across the country and prompted reflection about how the justice system treats Indigenous people.