Time Is on Our Side: Colonialism through Laches and Limitations of Actions in the Age of Reconciliation

• Author: Senwung Luk & Brooke Barrett
• Pages: 394-422



TimeIsonOurSide

CO LO NIA LI SMT H RO UG HL AC HES

AN D LIM ITAT IO NS OFAC T IO NS 

IN T HEAG EOF RE CO NC I LI AT ION

Senwung Luk*BrookeBarre**

Get overit Thos erea derswh ohave braved thec omme ntse ctio nona l

mostanyonlinenewsarticledeal ingwithinjusticesagainstI ndigenous

peop lesw illb efam ili arw itht hisp hras ean dthe unpr inta blei nvect ive

ladenti radethat usually followsSuch viewsare rightly dismissed as

crueland ignorantofthevery realhistory ofcolonialisma ndgenocide

that Indigenous people have faced throughout Canadashistory and

continue toface tothisdaySuch a sentiment isusual lynot explicitly

voicedinthe genteelchambers ofCanadascourtroomsAsa nillustra

tiveexampletheSupremeCourtofCanadainarecentdecisionsetout

that thereconciliat ionof Aboriginal andnonAborigina lCanadia ns

ina mutuallyrespec tfullongterm relationshipis the grandpurpos e

ofs of theConstitution ActWeargue that there isa special

rolefort hecourts evenmoret hanthe legislativeand executiveactors

ingovernmentin makingmanifest thekindof reconciliationthatsuch

grandstatementsenvisage

Starting withthe paradigmofreconcil iationasset outbythe Can

adiancourtswelookathowthosesamecourtshavebeendealingwith

theissueofl imitationperiodsand lachesSuchdoctrines barthepursuit

 SenwungLukBAYaleJDOsgoodeBCLOxonPartneratOlthui sKleer

TownshendLLPToronto

 BrookeBarreBAUofCLLBUNBLLMUofCAssociateatRaea ndCo

Ca lga ry

 BeckmanvLileSalmonCarm acksFirstNationSCCatparaBeckman

Time Is on Our Side

ofclaims incourt ifthe defendantisable toshowthat theplainti de

layed bringing the claim Such doct rines are often applied when the

Crownas defendantmakes summary judgmentmotionswhere afull

recordof the evidenceis notyet availabletot hecourt Weargue here

thatwherelachesandlimitationsareappliedwithoutthefullconsidera

tion of the historical circ umstances of Indigenous communities and

the very real limits both i n regard to their legal incapacities and the

resource constraints thatthey havefaced inorder tobri nglawsuits to

asserttheirrightsthecourtsriskdoingrealinjusticetothecommunities

thathavecometothemforhelpWhilelimitationsandlachesc anoften

beinst rumentsofju sticewhenthey areused inamec hanisticfash ion

withoutdueconsiderationfor thepartic ularcircu mstancesoft hecase

theycanr evisitandreinforcet hewrongaboutwhicha partyhascome

tothecourtforvindicationWhatisatstakehereisnothinglessthanthe

capacityofthecour tstobepartoftheprocessofreconcil iationthatthe

SupremeCourtofCanadahassograndlyendorsed

A. RECONCILIATION AND THE COURTS

Theidea thatthere is worktobe donein promotingreconci liationbe

tween Indigenous people and nonIndigenous people in Canada has

beena running themeinCa nadianjurisprudenceWhileatthebegin

ningof theSupreme Courtsjurisprudenceon reconciliation theCourt

seemed to suggest that the work ofr econciliation was for Indigenous

people to do in reconciling themselves with the sovereignty of the

Crow n the Court citing the work of the Truth and Reconciliation

CommissionTRChas recently recastthe goal asone ofrebuilding

the Crownsrelationship with Aborig inal peoples in Canada

 Itmay

perhapsbemostappropriatethentolett heTRCspeakonthehistorical

injusticest hathaveledto theneed forreconciliation betweenIndigen

ousandnonIndigenouspeople

 SeeforexampleR v Van der PeetSCRatparaLamerCJpara

McLachlinJdi ssentingVan der PeetR v Sappier; R v GraySCCatpara

Haida Nation v British Columbia (Minister of Forests)SCCatparaMikisew

Cree First Nation v Canada (Minister of Canadian He ritage)SCCatparaBeck-

manabovenoteatparaManitobaMétisFederationvCanadaAor neyGeneral

SCCatparaMMF

 Van der Peetabovenoteatpara

 DanielsvCanadaMinisterofIndianAairsa ndReconciliationSCCatpara