The Québec government appealed a 2024 decision that declared Québec’s system was unconstitutionally putting mining claims and exploration ahead of Indigenous rights.
MONTREAL/ TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF THE KANIWN’KEHÁ:KA AND HAUDENOSAUNEE PEOPLES —Ecojusticeand the Québec Environmental Law Centre (CQDE) are responding to Québec’s appeal of a court decision that was found in favour of the Mitchikanibikok Inik First Nation, also known as the Algonquins of Barriere Lake. The Superior Court of Québec found that the Québec government had failed for decades to meet its constitutional duty to consult and accommodate the First Nation over mining claims on its territory. The Court ruled that the government must consult the First Nation before registering new claims and allowing exploration and must consult and accommodate appropriate in relation to existing claims.
The government of Québec appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal hearing on Nov. 3 and 4 will help determine whether this ruling stands. At the heart of the case is the free-entry mining system, which allows companies and individuals to obtain mineral claims and carry out certain exploration activities without the government first having consulted and appropriately accommodated Indigenous peoples. For the Mitchikanibikok Inik, the stakes reach far beyond a claim on a map.
The First Nation’s unceded traditional territory includes the headwaters of the Ottawa River, important wildlife habitat, fish spawning grounds and culturally significant sites. Mining exploration can damage forests, disrupt ecosystems and put waters and places central to Indigenous culture and ways of life at risk.
“As Mitchikanibikok Inik, we have never given up our rights and sovereignty. Québec’s free-entry mining regime threatens both, as well as our lands and the natural environment that we have protected for generations. The government must stop allowing claims and exploration on our territory without respecting, at a minimum, our right to be consulted and appropriately accommodated.” – Chief Casey Ratt, Mitchikanibikok Inik.
This litigation is part of a wider challenge to free-entry mining across Canada. In British Columbia, the Gitxaala and Ehattesaht Nations challenged a similar system, with the B.C. Supreme Court similarly finding it was unconstitutional and required reform to provide consultation and appropriate accommodation before claims and exploration occur. In contrast to the government of Québec, B.C. did not appeal that aspect of the decision.
However, aspects of that case are now before the Supreme Court of Canada to raise further questions about the role of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canadian law.
“This case exposes a fundamental problem: a system that allows mining claims to come first and Indigenous rights to be considered later. Decisions that affect Indigenous lands and waters must be taken after meaningful consultation and accommodation with the Indigenous peoples whose rights and futures are at stake.” – Marc Bishai, Lawyer at CQDE.
“From Yukon, to B.C., and now Québec, courts have been clear that free-entry mining systems established in the 19th century cannot persist as the status-quo. By allowing mineral claims and certain and exploration before undertaking consultation and appropriate accommodation, Québec continues to fail to uphold the constitutional duties it owes the Mitchikanibikok Inik. Mining claims and exploration can no longer be prioritized ahead of the inherent and constitutionally owed rights and interests of Indigenous peoples.” – Reid Gomme, Lawyer at Ecojustice.
