Duty to Consult
ONLINE RESOURCE - 'Duty to consult' refers to the rulings that the Supreme Court of Canada and many lower courts have issued over the years stating that government and private companies have a duty to consult with Aboriginal people whenever Crown decisions or actions have the potential to adversely affect Treaty or Aboriginal rights. Consultation with Aboriginal people can also be required in the case of government decisions that affect public lands and waters where Aboriginal peoples have interests.
This duty to consult stems from Section 35 of The Constitution Act, 1982, which recognizes and affirms the existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights of Aboriginal people of Canada.
Although the duty to consult is mandated by the courts, based on the existed legislation and common law, what exactly this means in practice has yet to be definitively established by the courts. As such, questions such as what duty to consult actually means or what requirements need to be satisfied in order for this duty to have been fulfilled have not yet been answered conclusively.
