CLE Online

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

Sheryl Rivers — Knowledge Keeper, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, Squamish
Adam Munnings — Munnings Law, West Vancouver
Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver

Separation of Business and Governance (9:10 – 9:40)

• importance of building good governance and community support for your economic development
• fiduciary duty to nation
• Harvard project, business charters, and the relationship between the business and the Nation

Darrin P. Mah — Munnings Law, West Vancouver

Structuring Businesses: Practice, Ethics, and Client Relations (9:40 – 10:20)

• distinguishing economic and business development
• features and challenges of common business development structure (tiered limited partnerships)
• harmonizing and managing diversifying interests (i.e., multiple businesses, owners, partnerships) through management tools and practices

Darren Haines — Ratcliff LLP, North Vancouver
Arseniy Shchedrinskiy, CPA, CFF — Ratcliff LLP, North Vancouver

BREAK (10:20 – 10:35)

Indigenous-led Real Estate Development (10:35 – 11:05)

• overview of land/governance regimes
• trends and opportunities
• structuring considerations

Saul B. Joseph — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

Sustainable Development and Indigenous Lands Governance Under Land Code (11:05 – 11:35)

Stephen McGlenn — Director of Lands & Natural Resources Governance/EOC Director, Leq’á:mel First Nation, Deroche
Maya Stano — Gowling WLG, Vancouver

Economic Development in the Modern Treaty Context (11:35 – 12:05)

• brief overview of the Tsawwassen model of self-government
• how does the Tsawwassen Treaty's concurrent law model shape economic development?
• economic development by TFN—structures and processes
• economic development by TFN Members and Member-owned businesses—what does TFN do to support?
• some thoughts about the future of economic development at TFN

Mary N. Childs — General Counsel, Tsawwassen First Nation, Tsawwassen

LUNCH (12:05 – 12:45)

Aboriginal Title vs. Fee Simple (12:45 – 1:25)

• post-colonial Indigenous governance and economic development based on inter-cultural legal pluralism
• the relationship between Aboriginal title and fee simple title, addressing critical questions for inter-governmental and business relationships between First Nations and settler communities in BC
• the law in Canada recognizes that Indigenous legal orders determine the nature, scope and ownership of Aboriginal title, and that Canadian courts must give equal weight to Indigenous law and the common law when determining competing claims to lands and resources
• the co-existence of Aboriginal title and fee simple title reflects the presence of inter-cultural legal pluralism in Canada: an important component of our 21st century economic, social, political, and geographic reality
• understanding the nature and legal bases of these types of title can support the transition to mutually beneficial and more sustainable post-colonial inter-governmental and business relationships

Dr. Millie Nickason, PhD, MPA, LLB — Barrister & Solicitor, Nanaimo

DRIPA Opportunities: Drafting Consent Based Agreements Under DRIPA (1:25 – 2:15)

• s. 7 of DRIPA has created space for the Province and Indigenous governing bodies to enter into agreements that recognize Indigenous decision-making
• important considerations for the negotiation of these agreements will be discussed, including:
  • the role of industry in consent-based decision-making processes
  • issues of procedural fairness and transparency in relation to proponents
  • the use and protection of confidential Indigenous knowledge
  • enforcement mechanisms

Rosanne M. Kyle — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Virginia C. Mathers — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:15 – 2:30)

Domestic Commercial Arbitration as an Alternative to Courts (2:30 – 3:00)

• introduction to domestic commercial arbitration in BC as an alternative to courts
• VanIAC's model arbitration clause for dispute resolution provision of any commercial contract
• tailoring the clause to include culturally relevant traditions such as opening/closing ceremonies, hearings on Indigenous lands, and elements of importance to Indigenous parties
• careers in arbitration for Indigenous lawyers in BC, across Canada, and abroad

Elsa Sardinha — Secretary-General & Managing Director, Vancouver International Arbitration Centre, Vancouver

Dispute Resolution in the Context of Treaty and Reconciliation Agreements: Reading Between the Lines—What's Not in Your ADR Clause (3:00 – 4:00)

• dispute resolution within long-term, government-to-government agreements
  • the intent of dispute resolution clauses and considerations to set the parties on a path to success
  • the importance of process design and questioning assumptions around dispute resolution
  • how working together to design an appropriate dispute resolution process can be a site of relationship building
  • considering historic power imbalances and avoiding reproducing these dynamics
  • thinking about who may need to be present (and who does not need to be there), and how best to take advantage of the flexibility of collaborative dispute resolution

David Luggi — Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Prince George
Robin Phillips — JFK Law LLP, Victoria
Sharon Sutherland — Executive Director, Mediate BC, Delta
Erin Thomson-Leach — JFK Law LLP, Victoria

Closing Remarks (4:00 – 4:15)

Adam Munnings — Munnings Law, West Vancouver