Modern Treaties and the Duty to Consult: Little Salmon Revisited

On August 15, 2008 the Yukon Court of Appeal issued its decision in Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation v. Yukon (Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources), 2008 YKCA 13. This is the first appellate level court to consider the duty to consult described by the Supreme Court of Canada in Haida and Mikisew in the context of a modern treaty. The Court's finding that the duty to consult applies in the context of modern treaties means that there is almost no place left in Canada where the Crown does not have the duty to consult – from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and north to Nunavut.