Aboriginal Law Conference 2020: Governing in the Time of COVID-19


Course Date: November 27, 2020

Total: 5h 50min
Total Ethics: 1h 30min

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

Governing During the Pandemic (9:10 – 10:10)

  • what challenges have communities faced during the pandemic: setting the stage

Moderator: Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson Miller Titerle + Company, Vancouver

Dr. Judith Kekinusuqs Sayers President, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council; Adjunct Professor, School of Business and Environmental Studies, Victoria
Gagvi Marilyn SlettChair of Coastal First Nations, Chief Councillor, Heiltsuk First Nation, Bella Bella

BREAK (10:10 – 10:30)

Privacy Laws: Impact on the Operation of Administration (10:30 – 12:00)

  • privacy law jurisdictionwhat privacy laws apply to Indigenous Nations and related entities?
  • privacy law framework in a pandemic—how can/should Indigenous Nations collect, use, and disclose personal information in response to the pandemic?

Moderator: Melissa Kahahxstahlas Louie In-house Legal Counsel, Musqueam Indian Band, Vancouver

Grant Christoff  In-house Legal Counsel, First Nations Health Authority, West Vancouver
Ryley M. Mennie  Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Vancouver

LUNCH (12:00 – 12:40)

Keynote Address: Community Safety—A Partnership Approach (12:40 – 1:05)

Brenda Butterworth-Carr, Tr'injà shär njit dintlätAssistant Deputy Minister and Director of Police Services, Policing and Security Branch, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Victoria

Keynote Address: Building Your Justice Branch of Self-Government: How To Do It (1:05 – 1:30)

The Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC Abbotsford

BREAK (1:30 – 1:45)

Enforcement of First Nation Laws and Bylaws (1:45 – 2:55)

  • designing and drafting laws with a view to effective enforcement
  • First Nation enforcement (different approaches and examples; a wide range of enforcement mechanisms)
  • jurisdiction—First Nation internal justice and traditional dispute resolution, police, prosecutors, and the courts
  • moving forward—discussion on how to improve enforcement of First Nation laws and bylaws

Moderators: Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson Miller Titerle + Company, Vancouver
Isabel Sa-Gyo Jackson Department of Justice Canada, Vancouver

Andrew Beynon Director, Land Code Governance, First Nations Land Management Resource Centre, Sutton West, Ontario
Murray W. Browne
Woodward & Co. Lawyers LLP, Victoria
John Burns
Donovan & Company, Vancouver
Amy Jo Scherman Donovan & Company, Vancouver

BREAK (2:55 – 3:10)

Indian Act Bylaws and First Nations Laws (3:10 – 4:15)

  • prosecuting bylaws developed under the authority of the Indian Act
  • through what mechanism or process can bylaws be prosecuted?
  • understanding traditional Indigenous legal systems

Moderators: Chief Leah Sisi-ya-ama George-Wilson Miller Titerle + Company, Vancouver
Isabel Sa-Gyo Jackson Department of Justice Canada, Vancouver

Michelle S. Ball Senior Counsel, Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Vancouver
Jean Teillet — Pape Salter Teillet LLP, Vancouver