''Guerin v The Queen'' 9842 S.C.R. 335 was a landmark

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

decision on Aboriginal rights where the Court first stated that the government has a

fiduciary duty A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (legal person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, fo ...

towards the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and established

Aboriginal title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the Indigenous land rights, land rights of indigenous peoples to customary land, customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty to that land by another Colonization, colonising state. ...

to be a ''

sui generis ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind" or "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". It denotes an exclusion to the larger system an object is in relation to. Several disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. ...

'' right.

Background

The

Musqueam The Musqueam Nation ( Hunquminum: ) is a First Nation whose traditional territory encompasses the western half of what is now Greater Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. It is governed by a band council and is known officially as the Musq ...

Indian band held roughly of prime land in the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

area. In 1958, the federal government, on behalf of the band, made a deal with the Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club to lease of the land in order to build a golf club. However, the actual terms of the agreement between the government and the club were not those that were told to the band. In 1970, the band discovered the true terms and protested on the basis that the government had a duty to properly explain the full extent of the deal. At trial, the court held that the Crown had breached their trust with the band and awarded the Musqueam ten million dollars. This ruling was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal. The matter was then considered by the Supreme Court of Canada. The case was named for Delbert Guerin, chief of the Musqueam, who credited his mother Gertrude Guerin, an earlier chief, as its inspiration: "The Guerin case came about because of me listening to her complain, no doubt about it."

Decision

Dickson J., with Beetz, Chouinard, and Lamer concurring, held that the nature of Aboriginal title imposes an enforceable fiduciary duty upon the Crown. Dickson described the nature of Aboriginal title as a ''sui generis'' right that has no equivalent. Aboriginal Title was held to be a pre-existing legal right, not created by the

Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by British King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The ...

, by s. 18(1) of the ''

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

'', or by any other executive order or legislative provision. It is based upon the requirement to surrender land to the Crown as well as the historic relationship between the Crown and Aboriginals. The special right means that title to Aboriginal land can be alienable only to the Crown, which may use it only in the interests of the Aboriginals. The Court found that the Crown's agents promised the Band to lease the land in question on certain specified terms, but in fact leased the land on different terms which was much less valuable. As a result the majority held that it would be unconscionable to permit the Crown to simply ignore the terms promised to the First Nation's Band. The Court relied on principles from equity, that an agent, working on behalf of a principal, must act at all times in the principal's best interests. The Crown had breached their fiduciary obligation and thus the damages awarded by the lower court should be adopted to compensate for the Band's loss.

Aftermath

The principle of "fiduciary duty" later became integral in the interpretation of Section 35 of the

Constitution Act, 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' () is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the '' Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of the ''Constitution Act, 1982'' states that t ...

which provides for protection of Aboriginal rights.

References

External links

full text of decision from canlii.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin Supreme Court of Canada cases Canadian Aboriginal case law 1984 in Canadian case law Aboriginal title in Canada

Background

Decision

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links