Let Right Be Done

In the early 1970s, many questioned whether Aboriginal title existed in Canada and rejected the notion that Aboriginal peoples should have rights different from those of other citizens. But in 1973 the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark decision in the Calder case, confirming that Aboriginal title constituted a right within Canadian law.

Let Right Be Done examines the doctrine of Aboriginal title thirty years later and puts the Calder case in its legal, historical, and political context, both nationally and internationally. With its innovative blend of scholarly analysis and input from many of those intimately involved in the case, this book should be essential reading for anyone interested in Aboriginal law, treaty negotiations, and the history of the “BC Indian land question.”

Hamar Foster is Professor of Law at the University of Victoria. Heather Raven is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Victoria. Jeremy Webber holds the Canada Research Chair in Law and Society at the University of Victoria and is a Trudeau Fellow.

Contributors: Michael Asch, John Borrows, Hamar Foster, Christina Godlewska, Stephen Haycox, Honourable Gérard V. La Forest, Kent McNeil, Garth Nettheim, Brian Slattery, Jeremy Webber, David V. Williams