Treaties, Legislation & Case Law
Treaties
To find nation-to-nation treaties available in UNB's holdings, search UNB WorldCat. Many treaties are available electronically or in print in the law library.
You can also find treaties on the following sites/databases:
- Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS)
- A web-based information system intended to map out the location of Aboriginal communities and display information pertaining to their potential or established Aboriginal or treaty rights.
- Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat (AFN)
- Provides downloadable educational posters on Atlantic Peace and Friendship Treaties.
- Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)
- Includes treaties from the mid-1700s to early 1900s.
- Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)
- Includes links to government documents, Assembly of First Nations reports, treaties and other agreements, policy documents, statutes, and more.
- Treaties, Surrenders, and Agreements database (Library and Archives Canada)
- An extensive but incomplete collection of historic treaties, land surrenders, and related agreements between the Crown, First Nations, and, in one instance, the Métis.
Legislation & Case Law
Key Databases
The following databases and websites provide both legislation and case law:
Legislation
- LEGISinfo (Parliament of Canada)
- Includes information on federal bills, including status, speeches, links to Hansard debates, full-text versions of bills, and more from 35th Parl, 1st Sess (January 1994) to the current session
- Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
- New Brunswick Acts and Regulations (NB Attorney General)
- Indigenous Law Portal (via LLMC Digital)
- Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS)
- GALLOP Portal
- Searches electronic government documents from Legislative libraries in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, and Québec
Specific Statutes
The following federal statutes and regulations are related to Aboriginal law in Canada. It is not a complete list. Use a secondary source (like a legal encyclopedia) or search a database for more statutes.
There are several statutes meant to replace sections in the Indian Act (RSC 1985, c I-5). For more information, visit Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada's page "Attempts to Reform or Repeal the Indian Act." Many of these statues also attempt to fill in gaps in the Indian Act; for more, see The Canadian Encyclopedia's entry "Women and the Indian Act."
Some of the acts that replace sections of the Indian Act or fill in gaps include:
- Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, SC 2013, c 20.
- First Nations Land Management Act, SC 1999, c 24.
- First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act, SC 2005, c 9.
- First Nations Oil and Gas and Moneys Management Act, SC 2005, c 48.
- First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act, SC 2005, c 53.
- Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act, SC 2010, c 18.
Other statutes that might be of interest:
- Sections 35 and 91 of The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
- Addition of Lands to Reserves and Reserve Creation Act, SC 2018, c 27, s 675.
- An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, SC 2019, c 24.
- Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms), SOR/98-205.
- Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Act, SC 2019, c 29, s 337.
- Department of Indigenous Services Act, SC 2019, c 29, s 336.
- First Nations Goods and Services Tax Act, SC 2003, c 15, s 67.
- Indigenous Languages Act, SC 2019, c 23.
- Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, SC 2013, c 21.
- Specific Claims Resolution Act, SC 2003, c 23.
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, SC 2021, c 14.
Cases and Decisions
Along with searching the databases listed above, you can find case law on the following websites:
Case Digests
Along with the databases above, you should use a case digest to find case law. A case digest service indexes cases by topic, and each topic is broken down into several subtopics. With a case digest, you might find ten, twenty, or hundreds of cases on your research topic, saving you hours of time.
Two important case digests are the Canadian Abridgment Digests and the Canada Digest.
Canadian Abridgment Digests
Canada Digest
- Available via Lexis+ (law students only) and Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
- Click Case Summaries > All Canada Digests for a list of topics
- Useful titles include:
- Canada Aboriginal Law Digest
- Canada Criminal Digest
- Canada Environmental Law Digest
- Canada Human Rights Law Digest
- Canada Natural Resources Law Digest
- Canada Constitutional Law Digest
- Canada Digest – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (2:09)
Case Reporters
If you would like to browse the print reporters, there are topical law reports dealing with Aboriginal law on the second floor (mezzanine level) of the Mackay Reading Room. Much of this content is retrospective. For current cases/decisions, please use electronic databases when available.
Specific case reporters include:
Current Awareness Services
- LexisNexis Aboriginal Law NetLetter
- Lexis+ (law students only)
- Lexis Advance Quicklaw (available to all students)
- A current awareness service covering recent judicial developments pertaining to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples on topics such as treaty rights, land and resource claims, self-government of bands and nations, taxation issues, native justice, and criminal sentencing provisions specific to Aboriginal offenders.
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- Current Awareness – Lexis Advance Quicklaw (1:20)
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- First Peoples Law Report (via First Peoples Law)
- A weekly news update on Indigenous rights from First Peoples Law.