OTTAWA— Native groups across Canada hailed as a “game-changer” the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark decision to grant aboriginal title to a B.C. native group over a large tract of land — the first award of its kind.

B.C. aboriginal leaders and others immediately predicted a major impact on the Northern Gateway pipeline project and other resource developments on contested lands, with some calling it a “veto” while other legal analysts said the ruling simply reinforces existing legal duties on governments to consult with affected aboriginal groups.

Enbridge and other major industrial players were silent Thursday when the ruling was released. The B.C. and federal government, which is still negotiating some 100 land claims across the country, said little other than they were reviewing it.

“Today is a new day,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the B.C. Union of Chiefs, speaking in Vancouver. “We are in an entirely different ballgame.

“We’re moving away from the world of mere consultation into a world of consent. And that is absolutely enormous when one considers Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, the Kinder-Morgan proposal, and a whole multitude of major resource projects.”

Despite the euphoria, however, others say the 8-0 ruling does not bar economic development.

The ruling said provincial and federal governments may still regulate economic activity like forestry practices on aboriginal title lands as long as legislators win consent of the affected group, or can show “a pressing and substantial” public purpose for activity that must also be compatible with the Crown’s obligation to act in good faith for the benefit of aboriginal peoples.

Thursday’s historic ruling broke new legal ground in awarding aboriginal title to a specific part of Canada. It granted the Tsilhqot’in people an ownership say over a 1,750-square-km area in B.C.’s remote central interior, saying it gives the group “the right to use and control the land and to reap the benefits flowing from it.”

The ruling adopted a broad, expansive approach to the concept of aboriginal title, saying it is not “site specific” or narrowly restricted to particular village sites. Rather, it will cover a broad area where an aboriginal group can show it exclusively lived, hunted, fished and had historic control over a territory.

Most of B.C. is unceded territory, where no treaties were signed with First Nations. The court stressed the duty to consult in all cases.

“Governments and individuals proposing to use or exploit land, whether before or after a declaration of aboriginal title, can avoid a charge of infringement or failure to adequately consult by obtaining the consent of the interested aboriginal group,” Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin wrote for the unanimous court.

“This decision . . . will be a game-changer in terms of the landscape in B.C. and throughout the rest of the country where there is unextinguished aboriginal title,” said AFN Regional Chief of British Columbia Jody Wilson-Raybould.

It’s a clear victory for the Tsilhqot’in, a group of six bands who number about 3,000 people in and around the Nemiah Valley in the Chilcotin region, where they fought clear-cut logging efforts for more than two decades.

In that case, where B.C. failed in its duty to consult the Tsilhqot’in on what are titled lands, the court declared an infringement. It left open the possibility the act could be rewritten to refer to and justify its actions on aboriginal held lands.

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Suzanne Anton, B.C.’s minister of justice, said the province is “committed to continue to work together to make sure we all have healthy, thriving communities both socially and economically.”

Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said in a written statement the Conservative government believes “the best way to resolve outstanding aboriginal rights and title claims is through negotiated settlements that balance the interests of all Canadians.”

Even for treaty holders, the ruling builds on previous Supreme Court decisions that underline the Crown’s need to reconcile the concerns of aboriginal people and to take their claims seriously, said Bob Rae, chief negotiator for the Matawa First Nations Tribal Council that represents nine First Nations located around the Ring of Fire mining plays in northern Ontario.

Roger William, the Tsilhqot’in chief in whose name the legal challenge was launched, called it the “most important” decision from the court ever.

Another Tsilhqot’in chief, Bernie Elkins, said the ruling means that “on title lands we’re going to have a veto. The days of easy infringement are gone. So it’s time to wake up, come to the table — I’m talking about governments and industry — and talk to us meaningfully.”

With files from Alex Boutilier

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