Editorial: Nechako court decision bad for business – Vancouver Sun
November 20, 2015
A Supreme Court of Canada decision last month involving aboriginal rights should have raised many more eyebrows than it did because it threatens to further complicate an already complex environment for resource development in the province.
The ruling denied Rio Tinto Alcan’s appeal of a lower court decision that allowed two Nechako First Nations groups to sue the company. The earlier ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a B.C. Supreme Court decision that dismissed the lawsuit on grounds that the First Nations had not proven their title to the land. The case dates back to 2011 when the Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations filed a class-action lawsuit against Rio Tinto over its Kenney Dam on the Nechako River. They claimed aboriginal title to the area and asserted the dam operations harmed their fishery. Among other things, they sought an injunction requiring Rio Tinto Alcan to provide enough water to ensure a healthy salmon run.
