Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
A major unresolved issue in Canadian law is the status of third-party interests that were allegedly created on Aboriginal title lands in non-treaty areas of Canada. The legal validity of these interests could depend on when and where they were granted by the Crown. Pre-Confederation Crown grants would have been subject to the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and to the limited authority delegated to colonial governments, but not to the division of powers in the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas post-Confederation grants would be subject to the latter. Grants after, but not before, April 17, 1982, would be subject to the constitutional protection conferred on Aboriginal title by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Where Crown grants were invalid because they conflicted with Aboriginal title, another unresolved issue is whether provincial statutes, in particular limitations statutes, can be relied on by recipients of these grants and their successors as defences against potential Aboriginal title claims by Indigenous peoples.
Repository Citation
McNeil, Kent, "Aboriginal Title, Private Property Interests, and Statutes of Limitation" (2024). All Papers. 384.
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/all_papers/384
Included in
Constitutional Law Commons, Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons