February 4, 2016
McInnes Cooper lawyer John Hennessey, along with Don MacKenzie, executive director of the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of PEI, will represent the Abegweit First Nation Band Council as they take to court to shed light on voting practices among the native community.
The Abegweit First Nation Band Council has applied to Canada’s Federal Court for a decision on whether band members who live off-reserve should be allowed to vote in council elections. Currently under the law, off reserve members cannot vote in the elections for the Chief and Council of the Abegweit First Nation Band. The Band Council seeks to answer if these rules are counter to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms under Section 15(1). The Abegweit Band hopes to have an answer from the court later this year.
Jan 15, 2025
“Estimating the Indigenous economy in Atlantic Canada is valued at $4 billion, the Atlantic Economic Council engaged Chief Terrance Paul of…
Nov 26, 2024
Understanding the taxation of Indigenous Peoples’ governments and structuring of their economic development initiatives is more relevant than…
Aug 6, 2024
On April 12, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada held that treaty rights of Indigenous communities flow from the treaties themselves, not the…
May 14, 2024
On March 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada marked another pivotal moment in Indigenous self-governance, offered insight into the scope of…
Dec 6, 2022
On September 22, 2022, the N.L. Supreme Court confirmed the Nunatsiavut Assembly is a legislative body that holds all privileges, immunities,…
Jun 24, 2022
The New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench has issued a court order to stop Indigenous fishers (all apparently members of the Wolastoqey Nation)…
Mar 31, 2022
On March 18, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that an Indigenous government can still satisfy the impecuniosity requirement for an…
Oct 27, 2021
Updated July 17, 2024. On October 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified that labour arbitrators have exclusive jurisdiction over…
Jul 21, 2021
Updated February 9, 2024. It’s now widely accepted: it’s imperative that workplaces be both diverse and inclusive. Perhaps the most oft…
Jun 21, 2021
There is a duty to consult Indigenous groups when the Crown contemplates actions that may adversely affect their rights under section 35 of the…
May 10, 2021
The Supreme Court of Canada continues to expand the scope of Aboriginal rights. On April 23, 2021, in R. v. Desautel, for the first time the…
Feb 16, 2021
This publication has been updated as at September 17, 2021. Employers across the country – including the federal government, some…
Jan 20, 2021
We updated this publication on July 8, 2022. 2020 was a year filled with challenges, including in the relationship between Indigenous…
Mar 27, 2020
The COVID-19 novel coronavirus has evolved rapidly, and so have the workplace issues employers are facing – and the questions employers were…
Mar 12, 2020
The havoc that COVID-19 (a.k.a. “novel coronavirus” or SARS-CoV-2) is wreaking around the globe – and around workplaces – is about to…
Dec 13, 2018
This publication has been updated as of October 15, 2020. Canada became only the second country in the world to legalize cannabis (or…
Jul 16, 2018
Every parent knows that a lot can happen in 18 months. Many employers agree. The federal government’s extension of employment insurance…
Jun 29, 2018
The Crown’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples has evolved considerably since the Supreme Court of Canada’s first detailed articulation of…
Jun 27, 2018
The legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada is imminent. Employers are feeling the heat to prepare – even as they continue efforts to…
May 11, 2018
Updated July 4, 2024 It can be challenging for employers to fulfill their legal duty to accommodate an employee under human rights laws…
Apr 2, 2018
Workplace sexual harassment isn’t a new issue, nor is it limited to any one industry or country – but it's one that far more women than men…
Mar 29, 2018
We updated this publication on March 11, 2020. The #metoo and #timesup movements drove workplace sexual harassment to the front and center of…
Nov 7, 2017
On November 2, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada was faced with the Ktunaxa Nation’s claim that a Ministerial decision to approve a project…
Sep 21, 2017
Updated February 13, 2024 An increasing number of employees are struggling to meet the challenge of the competing demands of their employers…
Jul 28, 2017
All stakeholders in any major project development already know that adequate consultation before - rather than after - a project is approved is…
Jul 28, 2017
This publication has been updated as of October 14, 2020. On June 19, 2017, Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the…
Jul 28, 2017
Updated June 10, 2022. The rapid rise in ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) principles has increased focus on workplace diversity and…
May 19, 2017
Investigations are a vital - but difficult - part of workplace management. The value of a proper investigation can’t be overstated: it plays a…
May 11, 2017
The Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act is one of several anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws aimed at fighting corruption in the…
Dec 13, 2016
Employers’ legal duty to accommodate employees seems to most frequently come up in the context of employees with disabilities. But that duty…
Dec 7, 2016
Updated February 7, 2024. We live in a world of change. New ideas and new industries are rapidly developing and the list keeps growing: tidal…
Sep 12, 2016
On September 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided in Musqueam Indian Band v. Musqueam Indian Band (Board of Review) that an Indian band…
Jun 29, 2016
Employers are entitled to mandate dress codes in the workplace, and even to discipline employees who refuse to comply. But a workplace dress…
Jun 6, 2016
On June 2, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada denied an Alberta First Nation’s request to appeal the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of its bid…
Jun 6, 2016
Each Provincial government is under the legal duty to consult; the manner in which each carries out its legal duty to consult differs depending…
Apr 19, 2016
On April 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that Métis and “non-status Indians” are “Indians” under section 91(24) of the…
Jul 17, 2015
On the heels of National Aboriginal Day, we pause to take a look back at two significant Aboriginal law cases decided in the last year, how…
Jul 10, 2015
On April 15, 2015, British Columbia’s Court of Appeal confirmed that First Nations can make certain legal claims grounded in Aboriginal rights…
Mar 31, 2015
Updated June 24, 2021. Women make up close to half of the employed workforce: in 2019, Canadian women 15 years and older represented 47.4% of…
Feb 13, 2015
Updated January 26, 2022. With people spending so many of their waking hours at or connected to work these days, romantic relationships…
Jul 15, 2014
On July 11, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that the “Crown” in historical treaties with First Nations groups includes both the…
Jun 26, 2014
On June 26, 2014, in its groundbreaking decision on Aboriginal title in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. B.C., the Supreme Court of Canada …
Mar 15, 2013
Recent developments in Ontario and Yukon are an important reminder of the practical implications of the Crown’s legal Duty to Consult with…
Subscribe to McInnes Cooper to stay current with our leading insights on legal updates, trends, news, events, and services.