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“It’s obviously a re-affirmation of provincial rights and jurisdiction in that part of the world,” said David Adamson, Rubicon’s deputy chairman. “We take it as a positive for sure.”

The case also has implications for much of Western Canada, where similar language was used in aboriginal treaties that were signed by the “Dominion” government before current-day provincial boundaries were established.

Keith Bergner, a partner at Lawson Lundell LLP in Vancouver, said the Keewatin case ends any uncertainty about whether a province can “take up” lands that were ceded by an agreement reached with the federal government.

“That’s a welcome development because it confirms that throughout … Ontario and the Prairie provinces, it’s the provincial government and only the provincial government that has the authority to issue these licences, permits and other authorizations.”

The Supreme Court resolved the uncertainty by pointing out that native bands signed treaties that bind the crown, not a specific level of the Canadian government. Each level of government has its own constitutional responsibilities, and where these are provincial in nature, they pass to the province.

Lawyers say the Grassy Narrows decision is consistent with the controversial and high-profile Tsilhqot’in Nation (Roger William) decision by the Supreme Court last month. While that case granted “aboriginal title” to the Tsilhqot’in band in B.C., it also affirmed the Crown’s right to infringe on that title in certain instances. Grassy Narrows applies the same logic, affirming the Crown’s right to take up treaty lands, but only after consulting with natives and accommodating their concerns.

“There is a convergence of key legal principles. They all float around the provinces’ ability to govern, to regulate and to justifiably infringe,” said Thomas Isaac, a partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. “The themes are consistent.”

Lawyers said Friday’s decision clarifies what was already quite clear: that anyone interested in developing a project on native lands needs to get local support.

“Get out there and start talking,” said Brian Dominique of Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. “You have to consult meaningfully and accommodate.”

Financial Post