Iron Ore Company Of Canada, Et Al. v. Uashaunnuat (Innus De Uashat Et De Maniutenam), Et Al., 2015 QCCA 2
This case involves a claim by the plaintiff Innu communities for $900 million in damages for infringement of Aboriginal title, Aboriginal rights and treaty rights, and also a declaration recognizing Aboriginal title over the territory they occupy in the Québec-Labrador border region where Iron Ore Company of Canada and Québec North Shore and Labrador Railway Corporation operate. The defendants unsuccessfully applied to the Quebec Superior Court to have the claim dismissed. Their applications for leave to appeal were also dismissed by the Québec Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. As a result, the case will be proceeding to trial.
Of note in this case is that the Crown was not named as a party.
In seeking leave to appeal, the applicants described the lower Court ruling as holding that an action seeking recognition of Aboriginal rights and title under s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 can legally be brought against private parties. They argued the perils of dismissing their application, which they said would pave the way for a proliferation of claims against private parties based on unproven Aboriginal rights. The Court of Appeal was not convinced, noting that there was no requirement for an immediate ruling on these issues. The Court also disagreed with the applicant's characterization of the lower court ruling.
To a similar effect, see the Saik'uz decision of the B.C. Court of Appeal, described below, which also makes it possible for an Aboriginal claimant to advance a private law claim on the basis of asserted, but unproven, aboriginal title or rights.
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