DOCSLIB.ORG

Ontario 1. 2. 3

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ontario 1. 2. 3 Court File No. 05-CV-287601PD3 ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE B E T W E E N: DAVID BURT and GARD SHELLEY Applicants -and- BRIAN O‘NEILL and IAN MORRISON Being Trustees of the Trust established by Lord Stanley on March 18, 1892 and THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Respondents AFFIDAVIT OF PAUL KITCHEN I, Paul Kitchen of the City of Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, MAKE OATH AND SAY AS FOLLOWS: 1. I am a hockey historian and have reviewed the literature and source documents pertaining to the history of the Stanley Cup (the —Cup“). I have appended my resume as Exhibit —A“, which outlines my relevant experience. 2. I was a professional librarian for the National Library of Canada from 1964 to 1975 and Executive Director for the Canadian Library Association from 1975 to 1985. I then started a consulting firm œ Paul Kitchen and Associates œ and offered parliamentary affairs consulting services from 1985 to 1998. 3. I have also been actively involved in the Society for International Hockey Research (—SIHR“): as a member from 1993 to the present, as President of the Society from 1996 to 2000, and as Chair of the Society's Origins of Hockey Committee from 2000 to the present. In - 2 - addition, I have written numerous articles and made numerous presentations on hockey history. Most recently, I was a historical consultant to CBC-TV for People‘s History of Hockey. As such, I have knowledge of the matters to which I hereinafter depose and where that knowledge is based on information and/or belief, I have indicated the source of that knowledge and believe it to be true. 4. I have been asked to review the available literature and provide the Court with historical information on the original gift of the Stanley Cup, the terms of the Stanley Trust, the appointment of trustees, the evolution of the awarding of the Stanley Cup, any agreements reflecting the use of the Cup, any documents reflective of the actions of the trustees since 1947, and the actions of the trustees and the National Hockey League in 1947. 5. I have been provided with and have reviewed the affidavit of David Burt, sworn April 12, 2005, and various historical documents from the Hockey Hall of Fame archives, and Library and Archives Canada, as well as some documents from my own collection, some provided by counsel and some by Fred Hosking, President of Public History Inc., a history research firm. The Creation of the Stanley Cup Trust 6. Lord Stanley was appointed Governor General of Canada by Queen Victoria in 1888. Once he arrived in Ottawa, Lord Stanley, and his family, soon became devoted fans of the Ottawa club. The Stanleys were more than simply fans of the game. The Honourable Arthur Stanley, one of the Governor General‘s sons, helped to found the present Ontario Hockey Association. The Stanleys‘ involvement in the game of hockey is described in The Stanley Cup Story by Henry Roxborough, and copies of the relevant pages are attached as Exhibit —B“. 7. At that time, the game was in its infancy, with few leagues, disparate rules and no clear way to determine the champion of the Dominion. The state of the game at the time is described in The Stanley Cup Story by Henry Roxborough, and copies of the relevant pages are attached as Exhibit —C“. 8. On March 18, 1892, Lord Kilcoursie, an aide to Lord Stanley of Preston, the then Governor General of Canada, responded to the toast of the Governor General at a banquet in Ottawa by reading out a letter written by Lord Stanley. It stated: - 3 - I have for some time past been thinking that it would be a good thing if there were a challenge cup which should be held from year to year by the champion hockey team in the Dominion. There does not appear to be any such outward and visible sign of championship at present, and considering the general interest which the matches now elicit, and the importance of having the game played fairly and under rules generally recognized, I am willing to give a cup which shall be held from year to year by the winning team. I am not quite certain that the present regulations governing the arrangement of matches give entire satisfaction and it would be worth considering whether they could not be arranged so that each team would play once at home and once at the place where their opponents hail from. This letter was reproduced in an Ottawa Citizen article and an Ottawa Journal article, both from March 19, 1892, copies of which are attached as Exhibit —D“ and Exhibit —E“. This version of the words of Lord Stanley differs slightly from the version on the NHL website œ referred to by David Burt in his affidavit œ and I believe the Ottawa Citizen/Ottawa Journal version to be the accurate one. However, the differences between the two versions are not significant for the purposes of this application. 9. As was also recorded in the Ottawa Citizen article from March 19, 1892 (Exhibit —D“), Lord Stanley then contacted Captain Colville, his aide then in London, England, and commissioned him to order a cup. As Lord Stanley‘s Military Secretary, Captain Colville was under the employ of the Governor General‘s Office. 10. Captain Colville was permitted to expend ten guineas on a gold-lined silver bowl, standing on an ebony base. In 1992, the Stanley Cup was authenticated by Robert C. Parks, a valuer, and his authentication is attached as Exhibit —F“. According to Mr. Parks, the bowl was made in Sheffield, England and purchased from G.H. Collis, a retailer on Regent Street, London. The bowl was inscribed with —From Stanley of Preston“ and —Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup“. I am advised by Mr. Hosking and believe that the name of the retailer who sold the silver bowl to Captain Colville was in fact G.R. Collis & Co. 11. Though I have not found a record of who actually paid for the Cup, it is likely that Captain Colville paid for it using funds from the Governor General‘s Office. Captain Colville was in England at the time. He was a public servant and would not have paid for the Cup personally. The Governor General‘s office more than likely had the means to reimburse public - 4 - servants for expenditures made in the course of their duties. However, I am advised by Mr. Hosking and believe that he directed members of his staff at Public History Inc. to research the records of Lord Stanley, Lord Kilcoursie and Captain Colville to determine how the Cup was paid for, and their research did not disclose any record of the purchase of the Cup. 12. Apart from the issue of payment, I also note that the Cup was donated by Lord Stanley while he was Governor General of Canada. In addition, the inscriptions on the Cup and the fact that Lord Stanley left before the Cup was first awarded indicate that Lord Stanley donated the Cup in his capacity as Governor General, rather than as a private citizen. I do not believe that the Cup would have had the national importance of a —Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup“ if a private citizen had donated it. 13. Lord Stanley appointed the first two trustees of the Cup: Sheriff John Sweetland and Mr. Philip Dansken Ross, both of whom were Ottawa sportsmen. This appointment was recorded in an article from the Montreal Gazette on February 23, 1894, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit —G“. 14. Before Lord Stanley returned to England, he stipulated some conditions for the awarding of the Cup. These conditions are set out in the Montreal Gazette article of May 1, 1893 a copy of which is attached as Exhibit —H“. The conditions were: (1) The winners to give bond for the return of the cup in good order, when required by the trustees for the purpose of being handed over to any other team who may in turn win. (2) Each winning team to have at their own charge, engraved on a silver ring fitted on the cup for the purpose, the name of the team and the year won. (In the first instance the M.A.A.A. will find the cup already engraved for them.) (3) The cup shall remain a challenge cup, and will not become the property of any team, even if won more than once. (4) In case of any doubt as to the title of any club to claim the position of champions, the cup shall be held or awarded by the trustees as they may think right, their decision being absolute. (5) Should either trustee resign or otherwise drop out, the remaining trustee shall nominate a substitute. - 5 - 15. Lord Stanley also asked the trustees to suggest some way to make the Cup open to all in the Dominion, rather than one specific hockey association. This request was recorded in the Montreal Gazette article of May 1, 1893 (Exhibit —H“), as are the suggestions they accordingly made. 16. The trustees also developed regulations or principles for dealing with challenges and matches. These were published for the first time in an Ottawa Journal article from January 6, 1903, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit —I“. The Evolution of the Stanley Cup Trust 17. In the first few years of the Cup, amateur hockey teams challenged for the Cup. In fact, at the time that Lord Stanley donated the Cup, there were no professional hockey teams.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Download
    Generations and the Transformation of Social Movements in Postwar Canada DOMINIQUE CLE´ MENT* Historians, particularly in Canada, have yet to make a significant contribution to the study of contemporary social movements. State funding, ideological conflict, and demographic change had a critical impact on social movements in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, as this case study of the Ligue des droits de l’homme (Montreal) shows. These developments distinguished the first (1930s–1950s) from the second (1960s–1980s) generation of rights associations in Canada. Generational change was especially pronounced within the Ligue. The demographic wave led by the baby boomers and the social, economic, and political contexts of the period had a profound impact on social movements, extending from the first- and second-generation rights associations to the larger context including movements led by women, Aboriginals, gays and lesbians, African Canadians, the New Left, and others. Les historiens, en particulier au Canada, ont peu contribue´ a` ce jour a` l’e´tude des mouvements sociaux contemporains. Le financement par l’E´ tat, les conflits ide´olo- giques et les changements de´mographiques ont eu un impact de´cisif sur les mouve- ments sociaux au Canada lors des anne´es 1960 et 1970, comme le montre la pre´sente e´tude de cas sur la Ligue des droits de l’homme (Montre´al). Ces de´veloppements ont distingue´ les associations de de´fense des droits de la premie`re ge´ne´ration (anne´es 1930 aux anne´es 1950) de ceux de la deuxie`me ge´ne´ration (anne´es 1960 aux anne´es 1980) au Canada.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 13 No. 3
    Nikkei Images National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre Newsletter ISSN#1203-9017 Fall 2008, Vol. 13, No. 3 The ‘River Garage’ by Theodore T. Hirota My father the foot of Third Hayao Hirota was Avenue it spread born on January e a s t w a r d a w a y 25, 1910, in the from the Canadian small fishing vil- Fishing Company’s lage of Ladner, Gulf of Georgia located on the Cannery and burned left bank of the down the Star, Ste- Fraser River in veston, and Light- British Columbia house Canneries as just a few miles well as the London, from where the Richmond, and Star river empties into Hotels before the the Gulf of Geor- fire was stopped at gia. On the right Number One Road. bank of the lower The walls of the arm of the Fraser The Walker Emporium hardware store catered to Steveston’s fishing Hepworth Block industry in the early 1900s. (Photo courtesy T. Hirota) River and right remained the only at the mouth of Block reputedly were ballast from structure left stand- the river, another fishing village, the early sailing ships and were ing on the entire south side of Steveston, was home to 14 salmon replaced by canned salmon on the Moncton Street. All that was left fishing canneries in 1900. return trip to Britain. along the waterfront after the fire At the time of my father’s When a fire broke out were row upon rows of blackened birth, a substantial hardware store at the Star Cannery’s Chinese pilings.
    [Show full text]
  • 2021 Nhl Awards Presented by Bridgestone Information Guide
    2021 NHL AWARDS PRESENTED BY BRIDGESTONE INFORMATION GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS 2021 NHL Award Winners and Finalists ................................................................................................................................. 3 Regular-Season Awards Art Ross Trophy ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy ................................................................................................................................. 6 Calder Memorial Trophy ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Frank J. Selke Trophy .............................................................................................................................................. 14 Hart Memorial Trophy .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Jack Adams Award .................................................................................................................................................. 24 James Norris Memorial Trophy ................................................................................................................................ 28 Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award .................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Hockey in Wartime Canada, 1939-1945
    FOR CLUB OR COUNTRY? HOCKEY IN WARTIME CANADA, 1939-1945 BY Gabriel Stephen Panunto, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History Carleton University Ottawa Ontario July 19, 2000 Q copyright 2000 Gabriel Stephen Panunto National Library Bibliothèque nationale I*I of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON KtA ON4 OnawaON KlAON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sel1 reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT Sports reflect the societies that support them, and hockey in Canada during World War Two is no exception. Popular hockey history has defined the era as one of great sacrifices by the National Hockey League. largely because academic research is non- existent.
    [Show full text]
  • Scavenger Hunt
    GREAT MOMENTS SCAVENGER HUNT To help you find the answers, use the guide map found at the end of the Great Moments section. HONDA NHL ZONE 1. On March 23, 1994, Wayne Gretzky became the all-time scoring leader in the National Hockey League (NHL). Locate the net from this milestone event. Record what sits inside and why it was chosen: 2. Within 9 & 99: The Howe • Gretzky Exhibition, locate the puck that reads ‘544’ in the center display cases. What is the significant about this puck? 3. One of the most significant milestones in a modern hockey player’s career is recording 1,000 career points. Who was the first Canadian player to reach 1,000 points in his NHL career? Are there any other players who accomplished this impressive milestone? (Hint: Check the NHL Milestones display) 4. Did you know that there are many North American cities that at one time were home to NHL teams? You may not recognize the team names, but in the NHL ‘Retro’ display, you will see a Cleveland Barons jersey from Cleveland, Ohio. It’s true! Name two other NHL teams that no longer exist within the league. (Hint: Check the NHL Retro display) HOCKEY HALL OF FAME INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION PROGRAM 1 STANLEY CUP DYNASTIES 5. In the 1951 Stanley Cup Final, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games to become the Stanley Cup champions for the fourth time in five years. A silver tray was presented to Fern Flaman of the Maple Leafs following their victory. What was so unique about this Stanley Cup Final series that the record still exists today? 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Hhof & the Winter Olympic Games
    HOCKEY HALL of FAME NEWS and EVENTS JOURNAL HHOF & THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES INDUCTION 2013 RETROSPECT PARTNERSHIP BRIEFS SPRING 2014 LETTER CORPORATE MATTERS FROM THE CHAIRMAN INDUCTION 2014 The annual elections meeting of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee will OF THE BOARD be held in Toronto on June 23 & 24, 2014 to deliberate and vote on duly nominated Dear Teammates: candidates to be honoured at the annual Induction Celebration scheduled on Monday, November 10, 2014. Watching Canada win double gold in Sochi certainly brought back some great memories of Vancouver 2010 Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF-IOC and, particularly on a personal note, APPOINTMENT NOTICES The following new appointments were confirmed at the Annual General Meeting of my coaching experience at Salt Lake 2002. For the Hockey Hall the Members and the Director’s meeting in Toronto on March 26, 2014: of Fame, the aftermath of the Olympic Games helps to drive gate • Bob Clarke, Senior Vice-President, Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Club, and traffic for fans eager to see the numerous artifacts that will be Honoured Member (1987), appointed to Selection Committee. preserved for future generations. We wish to congratulate our • John Davidson, President, Hockey Operations, Columbus Blue Jackets long-time partner, the International Ice Hockey Federation, for Hockey Club, and Media Honouree (2009), appointed as Chairman of Selection their role in organizing another successful Olympic tournament Committee. and we greatly appreciate the support that allows our staff to • Cam Neely, President, Boston Bruins Hockey Club, and Honoured Member collect, exhibit and promote hockey history on the global stage.
    [Show full text]
  • Sports Favor Robinson 3-1 Over BATTLERS Wings Administer Artistic La Motla: 16,000 TONIGHT 3-2 Whipping to Leafs Rob'nson Picked Lxpect
    1 1 .il Friday, February 5, 1943 PAGE 26 DETROIT EVtMisu i L o CnEUZY SCSV Sports Favor Robinson 3-1 Over BATTLERS Wings Administer Artistic La Motla: 16,000 TONIGHT 3-2 Whipping to Leafs Rob'nson Picked Lxpect Win, 3-1 * Bizarre Goals Tc But 5,000 Tickets r DORAIS BIDS GOOD-BY TO U. D. Period Odds Too Long On Sale at 6:30 In First Provide Margin By LEO MACDONELL For Bout Tonight W JUr -- hH TORONTO. Ont., Foh. fl.- De- jJ Will Jake LaMotta end Ray TONIGHT’S CARD troit Red Wing* have reason to L (Sugar* Robinson's serv-ationat ( ,•; . .1, k Flint. \» Pel* Pf- chuckle today over iheir rather i«# pouna* string of at Olympia • i m;i 12.'i -10 victories OrVr. Dnr«*M. \ * B*mm> artistic 3-‘J victory over Toronto tonight ? fci.'.ix Chlr«iv 4 round* 155 peinfl* Maple Leafs here Inst night. says no. Fc# V»»<1 Or*M Hnplrt* VI. Johnny Smart monev * Not only did the Wings gain go r. r»rtr .it round* I*>2 pound* Robinson is expreted to c,,.or#:r Bumri'r P#troH. v« V\»lirr more authoritative command ot into ring a 3 to 1 fa\ontc f,. >,« N>w Vorl, * o.i.t in ITS pound* place in the National • the M .kiln. B ff»ln v* *Bii»t*r F>*k». second m tor betting gentrv. The I with 1,,,..., . ruuHil# pw*<l» Hockey League, hut they humbled c-rtart boys point to Robinson's I •«\ RnMn»on U*rlrrn.
    [Show full text]
  • Calder V. British Columbia (Attorney-General) File:///D:/Palys/RESEARCH/Aboriginal/Domestic/Cases/Sc1973calder
    Calder v. British Columbia (Attorney-General) file:///D:/Palys/RESEARCH/Aboriginal/Domestic/Cases/SC1973Calder... Indexed as: Calder v. British Columbia (Attorney-General) Frank Calder et al., suing on their own behalf and on behalf of All Other Members of the Nishga Tribal Council, and James Gosnell et al., suing on their own behalf and on behalf of All Other Members of the Gitlakdamix Indian Band, and Maurice Nyce et al., suing on their own behalf and on behalf of All Other Members of the Canyon City Indian Band, and W.D. McKay et al., suing on their own behalf and on behalf of All Other Members of the Greenville Indian Band, and Anthony Robinson et al., suing on their own behalf and on behalf of All Other Members of the Kincolith Indian Band, Appellants; and Attorney-General of British Columbia, Respondent. [1973] S.C.R. 313 Supreme Court of Canada 1971: November 29, 30, December 1, 2, 3 / 1973: January 31. Present: Martland, Judson, Ritchie, Hall, Spence, Pigeon and Laskin JJ. ON APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA Indians — Aboriginal title to lands — Territory occupied by Nishga Tribe — Extinguishment of title. Crown — Sovereign immunity — Claim of title against Crown in right of Province — Absence of fiat of Lieutenant-Governor — Court without jurisdiction to make declaration requested — Crown Procedure Act, R.S.B.C. 1960, c. 89. The appellants, suing on their own behalf and on behalf of all other members of the Nishga Tribal Council and four Indian bands, brought an action against the Attorney-General of British Columbia for a declaration "that the aboriginal title, otherwise known as the Indian title, of the Plaintiffs to their ancient tribal territory ..
    [Show full text]
  • Quest for a Hockey Franchise
    Quest for a Hockey Franchise Alex Faseruk Memorial University of Newfoundland Tom Clift Memorial University of Newfoundland This study documents the history of attracting and maintaining a hockey franchise for the City of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador from 1991-2019. In that period, the City has been granted four franchises. Three have been relocated, while the fourth has completed its inaugural season which resulted in a league championship. It examines: the St. John’s Maple Leafs (1991-2005) of the American Hockey League (AHL); St. John’s Fog Devils of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) (2005-2008); the St. John’s IceCaps (AHL), affiliated with the Winnipeg Jets (2011-2015) and Montreal Canadiens 2015-2017); and the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL, (2018-ongoing). The study focuses on the economic, marketing, strategic planning, and business modelling for a hockey franchise in three hockey leagues, AHL, QMJHL, and ECHL to gauge the long-term sustainability of a hockey franchise in St. John’s. It analyzes key success factors for minor league hockey franchises and speculates on the future direction of the current franchise. Keywords: minor league, franchise, ice hockey, economic viability INTRODUCTION The 1981 Franco-Canadian science fantasy adventure movie Quest for Fire was set in Paleolithic Europe, approximately 80,000 years ago. The movie focuses on three members of a tribe who set out on a quest to find fire. Their village’s fire was extinguished and the tribe does not know how to rekindle a fire. The film deals with the trials, tribulations and battles during these exploits.
    [Show full text]
  • Writing Activism: Indigenous Newsprint Media in the Era of Red Power
    Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2018 Writing Activism: Indigenous Newsprint Media in the Era of Red Power Elizabeth Best [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons, and the Indigenous Studies Commons Recommended Citation Best, Elizabeth, "Writing Activism: Indigenous Newsprint Media in the Era of Red Power" (2018). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 2003. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2003 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Writing Activism: Indigenous Newsprint Media in the Era of Red Power C. Elizabeth Best Master of Arts 2017 THESIS Submitted to the Department of History In partial fulfilment of the requirements for Master of Arts in History Wilfrid Laurier University © C. Elizabeth Best 2017 Abstract This thesis reconstructs Indigenous activism in the era of Red Power, 1972-1976, by examining three newspapers, the Native Youth Movement (NYM), The Native Voice (TNV) and The Native People (TNP). By linking these newspapers, the overarching themes of 1970s Indigenous activism are explored in order to understand the social conditions faced by young Indigenous people. Through a content analysis of these newspapers, the author examines questions such as: what were the living conditions of Indigenous people during the 1970s? What mattered most to the journalists and editors of these papers? What did Indigenous grassroots activism in Western Canada look like in this period? Indigenous men and women continue to face similar barriers in education, housing and drug and alcohol abuse.
    [Show full text]
  • Calder Case, and the Future of Indigenous Rights
    Let Right Be Done foster1.p65 1 10/14/2007, 10:40 AM Law and Society Series W. Wesley Pue, General Editor The Law and Society Series explores law as a socially embedded phenom- enon. It is premised on the understanding that the conventional division of law from society creates false dichotomies in thinking, scholarship, educational practice, and social life. Books in the series treat law and society as mutually constitutive and seek to bridge scholarship emerging from interdisciplinary engagement of law with disciplines such as politics, social theory, history, political economy, and gender studies. foster1.p65 2 10/14/2007, 10:40 AM Edited by Hamar Foster, Heather Raven, and Jeremy Webber Let Right Be Done: Aboriginal Title, the Calder Case, and the Future of Indigenous Rights foster1.p65 3 10/14/2007, 10:40 AM © UBC Press 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher, or, in Canada, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), www.accesscopyright.ca. 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in Canada on ancient-forest-free paper (100% post-consumer recycled) that is processed chlorine- and acid-free, with vegetable-based inks. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Let right be done : Aboriginal title, the Calder case, and the future of Indigenous rights / edited by Hamar Foster, Heather Raven and Jeremy Webber.
    [Show full text]
  • The Calder Case: Setting a Precedent for Indigenous Canadian Constitutional Relations
    The Calder Case: Setting A Precedent for Indigenous Canadian Constitutional Relations SEAMUS McCONVILLE Indigenous-State Relations around land claims in Canada have been an area of significant debate throughout the past fifty years. Often, the land claims process that the Indigenous nations had to work through was one that was not conducive to a proper settlement. In the case of the Nisga’a and their land claims case during the 1970s, the Nation challenged the system that had held them from asserting their sovereignty, providing a way for the Nisga’a and other Indigenous nations to not only sign treaties, but assert their own rights as well. This landmark case ultimately saw the Nisga’a utilize their oral histories to prove their occupancy on the lands, helping invalidate the state’s claim that the lands had been empty prior to the arrival of settlers in the 19th century. The 1973 court case of Calder et al. v. Attorney General of British Columbia was a landmark case for Indigenous peoples in Canada, as it challenged the Canadian Constitution and the structure that defined how First Nations land claims were administered. In this case, the Nisga’a addressed positions related to the use of the land and the lack of a treaty, in order to reassert their determination for sovereignty over their territories. The Nisga’a faced many hurdles as part of this claim, with the limitations of the Canadian Constitution, as well as language and precedents of the legal system providing a challenging battle. From the results of the Calder Case, the Nisga’a were able to assert their rights to their land, and ultimately pave the way for a treaty between the Nisga’a Nation and Canada in the 1990s.
    [Show full text]