Here’s an interview I did following the Supreme Court’s extremely interesting decision in Ktunaxa. The case involved a dispute around the construction of a ski resort in British Columbia, on land claimed as the home of a spiritual entity – GrizzlyBear – revered by the Ktunaxa people. The Court unanimously upheld the Minister’s decision to approve the project after many years of negotiation, but divided sharply about the application of the Charter‘s guarantee of freedom of religion. The majority rejected the attempt to claim constitutional protection for the Ktunaxa’s beliefs about the need to protect the wilderness area. The minority would have applied the Charter, but reached the same result on the basis that the Minister’s decision appropriately considered all of the interests.
As ever, apologies if the link disappears behind a pay wall.