The Rule of Law: Lessons of Legality from Wet’suwet’en to Tyendinaga

On Feb. 12, APTN reported Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted that: “This is an important part of our democracy in Canada, but we’re also a country of the rule of law and we need to make sure those laws are respected” in response to questions about railway blockades in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
By invoking the rule of law to challenge Wet’suwet’en political authority, says Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, Trudeau made it clear that despite recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report, reconciliation would not entail a recognition of Indigenous law. Yet, the question remains whether Canada is held to the same standard to follow the rule of law, as extractive projects continue to skirt around Aboriginal title and rights jurisprudence and the duty to consult. This talk is centered on these longstanding conflicts, analyzing how, when and for whom law is invoked and applied.
Stark (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)is the Distinguished Visiting Indigenous Faculty Fellow at the Jackman Humanities Institute and an associate professor of political science at the University of Victoria. She is the director of the Centre for Indigenous Research and Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) and the director of the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Nationhood.
Light refreshments will be served!