Aboriginal Title and Free Entry Mining Regimes in Northern Canada Prepared for the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee by Nigel Bankes Professor, Faculty of Law The University of Calgary [email protected] and Cheryl Sharvit LLM Candidate Faculty of Law The University of Calgary [email protected] July 1998 ISBN 0-919996-77-9 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments 1.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Two Hypotheses..........................................................................................................................1 1.1.1 The Free Entry Hypothesis.........................................................................................1 1.1.2 The 1870 Order Hypothesis.......................................................................................2 1.1.3 Other Possible Hypotheses.........................................................................................3 1.1.4 Mining legislation and land claim agreements ...............................................................6 1.2 Background.................................................................................................................................6 1.2.1 Some Examples of Conflicts Between Free Entry Mineral Exploration and Aboriginal Peoples...............................................................................................7 1.2.1.1 Baker Lake Uranium Exploration........................................................7 1.2.1.2 Lac de Gras Diamond Rush................................................................9 1.2.1.3 Finlayson-Wolverine Lake Staking Rush...........................................10 1.2.2 The Elements of a Free Entry System........................................................................12 1.2.3 The Status of Land Claim Negotiations in Yukon and the Northwest Territories................................................................................................................14 1.2.3.1 Treaties 8 and 11.............................................................................14 1.2.3.2 Modern Land Claim Agreements......................................................17 1.2.3.3 Areas Without Agreements ..............................................................19 2.0 The Constitutional and Statutory Framework for Mineral Dispositions in Yukon and Northwest Territories................................................................................................................21 2.1 The Constitutional Position .........................................................................................................21 2.2 The Mineral Legislation ..............................................................................................................21 2.2.1 Acquisition of rights..................................................................................................23 2.2.2 Required Qualifications to Locate a Claim.................................................................28 2.2.3 Lands Open for Acquisition......................................................................................29 2.2.3.1 All Lands are Open for Staking ........................................................30 2.2.3.2 The Exceptions and the Withdrawal Power.......................................31 2.2.4 Competing Surface Rights ........................................................................................35 2.2.4.1 The YQA..........................................................................................36 2.2.4.2 The CMRs.......................................................................................38 2.3 Regulatory Rules Affecting Land and Water Use by Mineral Claim Holders.................................40 2.3.1 The Territorial Land Use Regulations........................................................................41 2.3.2 Water Legislation.....................................................................................................46 2.3.3 The 1996 Amendments to the YQA173.......................................................................50 2.3.4 The Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (MVRMA)179............................51 2.3.4.1 Land Use Planning ...........................................................................52 2.3.4.2 Land and Water Boards...................................................................53 2.3.4.3 Environmental Assessment................................................................54 2.3.4.4 Land Use Regulations.......................................................................55 2.4 Conclusions ...............................................................................................................................56 3.0 Is a Free Entry Scheme Inconsistent with an Aboriginal Title?......................................................56 3.1 Introduction: The Existing Jurisprudence on Section 35................................................................56 3.2 Aboriginal Right or Aboriginal Title.............................................................................................58 3.3 Nature and Content of an Aboriginal Title and Limitations on that Title.........................................61 3.3.1 Nature and Content..................................................................................................61 3.3.2 Limitations on Title...................................................................................................62 3.4 Infringement...............................................................................................................................65 3.5 Justification ................................................................................................................................77 3.5.1 Legitimate Legislative Objective................................................................................77 3.5.2 Upholding the Honour of the Crown.........................................................................79 3.5.2.1 Priority of the Aboriginal Resource Users..........................................80 3.5.2.2 Consultation.....................................................................................84 3.5.2.3 As Little Infringement as Possible......................................................88 3.5.2.4 Compensation..................................................................................91 3.6 Conclusions ...............................................................................................................................92 4.0 The 1870 Order.........................................................................................................................94 4.1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................94 4.2 The 1867 and 1869 Addresses ..................................................................................................96 4.3 Interpretation .............................................................................................................................98 4.3.1 What are “lands required for purposes of settlement”?...............................................99 4.3.2 Consider and Settle the Claims of the Indian Tribes.................................................100 4.3.3 The Equitable Principles .........................................................................................101 4.4 Application ..............................................................................................................................103 5.0 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................104 Acknowledgements The Canadian Arctic Resources Committee provided funding to support Cheryl Sharvit’s participation in this project. We would like to thank Barry Barton, John Donihee, Gary Nelson and Erin Eacott for their constructive comments on earlier drafts. The maps in section 1.2.3 are used with permission and were prepared by the Information Management Group, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Yellowknife and the N.W.T. Centre for Remote Sensing, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife. Kevin O’Reilly supported the project from the outset and provided useful input at several stages. Nigel Bankes Cheryl Sharvit July 1998 1.0 Introduction For the last century or more, the Government of Canada has proceeded on the assumption that mining legislation in both Yukon and the Northwest Territories allows miners to enter on to the traditional lands of aboriginal peoples, stake claims, go to lease and produce and export minerals without requiring the consent of the aboriginal peoples concerned, and without needing to pay compensation to those aboriginal people. The purpose of this working paper is to question the validity of those assumptions. The paper deals with those parts of Yukon and the Northwest Territories which are not covered by a modern land claim agreement. 1.1 Two Hypotheses 1.1.1 The Free Entry Hypothesis The paper examines two related hypotheses. The first, the free entry hypothesis, is that a mineral leasing regime that embodies the basic elements of what has come to be known as a free entry regime is inconsistent with an existing aboriginal title and is therefore unconstitutional unless it can be justified in accordance with