Michael Woods, Senior Partner at Woods, LaFortune LLP and the firm’s strategic ally, Wayne Garnons-Williams of Garwill Law Professional Corporation, were quoted in Howard Woodbury’s article about this summer’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia [2014 SCC 44]. In CCAB’s “Historical Tsilhqot’in”, both were asked to comment on the case’s significance in the domestic and international context. The SCC’s decision undoubtedly has implications for economic and resource development on First Nations lands. According to Wayne Garnons-Williams “the three main implications of the Tsilhqot’in decision on Aboriginal-industry economic partnership are: (1) greater security for First Nations in future ownership and control of traditional lands and resources; (2) greater understanding by the outside business community that they will be talking and negotiating directly and primarily with First Nations; and (3) environmental standards, as interpreted by First Nations laws, will serve as the requirements for long-term stewardship of the land and resources. Michael Woods added that the Aboriginal-industry economic partnerships will have a “deeper, more rich concept of investment” than industry may have been exposed to in the past. Not only will they be partners in an economic and business sense, they will be real partners in their people-to-people relationship.
Wayne Garnons-Williams and Michael Woods will address this topic in more detail as panelists at the CCAB Hot Topic Series on March 12 2015, in Vancouver. See: https://www.ccab.com/upcoming-events-the-williams-case.
