A Federal Court judge has thrown out an Alberta First Nation’s requirement that its chief and council live on reserve, in a case that weighed the First Nation’s right to self-government against the Charter rights of its citizens.
The decision builds on other cases that have gradually extended voting and governance rights to band members living off-reserve, including a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that found First Nation citizens are often only seen as “truly Aboriginal” if they live on reserve.
In this case, launched by a councillor for the Bigstone Cree Nation who was removed in 2015 for failing to move onto reserve lands, the First Nation argued its customs and right to self-government must be respected as “integral to the process of reconciliation” between Canada and its Indigenous peoples.
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