Chippewas of Sarnia Band v Canada (AG)

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Chippewas of Sarnia Band v Canada (AG), 195 D.L.R. (4th) 135, was a decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario rendered on December 21, 2000. The plaintiff, an aboriginal nation, claimed aboriginal title to a four-square-mile parcel of land in and around the city of Sarnia, Ontario. The Court of Appeal dismissed the claim, upholding the lower court's judgment although with different reasoning. The Chippewas of Sarnia sought leave from the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal the decision, but leave was denied.

The Chippewas of Sarnia Band, legally an Indian Band pursuant to Canada's Indian Act, is now known as Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

The case is notable for two reasons.

First, the aboriginal group was claiming ownership of privately held land. Previous aboriginal title claims, such as in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia, had asserted title to crown land only, but here, the disputed Sarnia lands had been taken from the aboriginal group and then transferred (mostly) to private individuals and corporations. The Chippewas of Sarnia sought an order that the corporations vacate the land and return it to the Chippewas of Sarnia. With respect to land currently occupied by individuals (i.e. houses), the Chippewas did not ask that it be vacated, but instead sought financial compensation from the government.

Second, the case was certified under the Class Proceedings Act of Ontario for a defendant class. Typically in a class action, it is a plaintiff class that is certified: for example, a large group of individuals who have been wronged by a single corporation, and each individual's claim against the corporation is similar enough that all the claims can be tried together. Here, there was one single plaintiff but many defendants (the putative owners of different sections of the four-square-mile parcel, along with others who had a putative interest to land in the parcel such as mortgagors or others registered pursuant to Ontario's land title system). This demonstrates the flexibility of the Class Proceedings Act.

See also

• The Canadian Crown and First Nations, Inuit and Métis
• Category:Canadian Aboriginal case law
• Numbered Treaties
• Indian Act
• Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982
• Indian Health Transfer Policy (Canada)

External links

• full text of judgment from CanLII
• Law review publication, James I. Reynolds
• Private Landowners and Aboriginal Title: Supreme Court of Canada Decision of Chippewas of Sarnia Band v. Canada (McCarthy Tétrault)
• Harrison Pensa
• Courts flip-flop to serve third party interests (aboriginal perspective on the case)

Canadian Aboriginal law
Politics, law and legislation	Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada The Canadian Crown and Aboriginal peoples Canadian Indian residential school system High Arctic relocation Fred Quilt inquiry Ipperwash Crisis
Aboriginal law	Royal Proclamation of 1763 Constitution Act, 1867 Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982 Douglas Treaties 1969 White Paper Kelowna Accord Numbered Treaties Indian Act Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples First Nations treaties in British Columbia Indian Health Transfer Policy
Case law	Attorney General of Canada v. Lavell R. v. Badger Calder v. British Columbia Chippewas of Sarnia Band v. Canada Corbiere v. Canada Daniels v. Canada Delgamuukw v. British Columbia Native Women's Association of Canada v. Canada Kruger and al. v. The Queen R. v. Marshall; R. v. Bernard R. v. Marshall Mitchell v. M.N.R. Paul v. British Columbia Paulette Caveat Powley ruling R. v. Drybones R. v. Gladstone R. v. Gonzales R. v. Guerin R. v. Jim R. v. Pamajewon R. v. Sparrow Re Eskimos St. Catharines Milling and Lumber Co. v. R. R. v. Van der Peet Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia Daniels v. Canada
International rights & laws	Definitions and identity of indigenous peoples Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Indigenous intellectual property
See also Index of Aboriginal Canadian-related articles