INDIGENOUS ABORIGINAL LAW FIRM LAWYERS ONTARIO, QUEBEC, BRITISH COLUMBIA, MANITOBA, ALBERTA, SASKATCHEWAN, NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK, NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR, NUNAVUT, YUKON, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA: RIGHTS, TREATY, TITLE; SECTION 35 CONSTITUTION ACT 1982; COMPREHENSIVE LAND CLAIMS, SPECIFIC CLAIMS, SPECIAL CLAIMS; GOVERNANCE, SELF-GOVERNMENT; INDIAN ACT, BAND COUNCIL, BY-LAWS, ELECTIONS; CONSULTATIONS, NEGOTIATIONS, LITIGATION

We Create Indigenous & Aboriginal Law Solutions

We serve as lawyers to Indigenous Peoples, First Nations, Indian Act Bands, Chiefs and Councils, Settlement Trusts, Indigenous organizations, signatories to and beneficiaries of historic and modern Treaties, individuals, and businesses on a wide spectrum of Indigenous, Aboriginal, constitutional, environmental and business law matters throughout Canada. We employ our decades of experience, knowledge of federal, provincial & territorial Crown policies, practices and legislation, plus the latest court jurisprudence, to craft a combination of advice, negotiations and litigation that advances our clients’ interests including their resolution of disputes and securing of appropriate recognition.

We've litigated Indigenous rights and treaty issues as high as the Supreme Court of Canada, negotiated Comprehensive and Specific Claims from coast to coast, advised on additions to reserves and the statutory interpretation of the Indian Act, and facilitated self-government through Indigenous constitutional development and drafting.

Depth of Firm’s Indigenous & Aboriginal Legal Experience

The firm’s Indigenous and Aboriginal law practice leader Gordon S. Campbell has:

• worked in legal and negotiations capacities with Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Innu, Inuit, Mohawk, Algonquin, Ojibwe, Cree, Dene, Gitxsan, Wuikinuxv, Haida, Hulqiminum, and Coast Salish peoples;

• conducted hundreds of civil and criminal court trials, administrative hearings, judicial reviews and appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada, Federal Court of Appeal, Federal Court, Tax Court of Canada, and provincial appellate, superior and lower courts in both French and English in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Nunavut;

• served as lead negotiator on numerous title, treaty and rights Comprehensive and Specific Claims in Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia and Nova Scotia;

• helped establish the Specific Claims Tribunal Canada;

• assisted with Indigenous governance issues in Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia;

• dealt with private forestry, mining, fisheries and energy production industries;

• been a member of the Law Society of British Columbia and Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society in addition to holding his current membership in the Law Society of Ontario and Barreau du Québec special practice permit;

• authored several Carswell, Les Éditions Yvon Blais and LexisNexis law books and academic articles;

• earned civil law (B.C.L) and common law (L.L.B.) degrees from the McGill University Faculty of Law and served with: the Constitutional Law Division of the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General; the Ontario and Atlantic Regional Offices of the Department of Justice Canada; the Federal Treaty Negotiation Office (Vancouver) and Comprehensive Claims & Specific Claims Branches (Gatineau) of Indigenous & Northern Affairs Canada.

He is assisted by other experienced lawyers and law clerks of the firm. For its Indigenous and Aboriginal law practice, Aubry Campbell MacLean is affiliated with the firm of Richards Carney SENC of Montreal, Quebec.

The firm also operates as Campbell Richards Carney Lawyers Avocats (www.crclaw.ca) to offer litigation and negotiations support, opinions, advice and education in Indigenous and Aboriginal law.

Wide-Ranging Geographic Scope of Firm’s Indigenous & Aboriginal Law Practice

Although based in Ontario, the firm possesses extensive experience helping clients across Canada with Indigenous, Aboriginal, constitutional and environmental law issues, especially in:

• Northern and North-Western Ontario;

• Southern Ontario;

• British Columbia;

• Quebec;

• Manitoba;

• Nova Scotia;

• New Brunswick;

• Newfoundland & Labrador.

In order to provide all of our clients with good value regardless of where their territory might be located, the firm minimizes or eliminates travel time and disbursements costs for in-person meetings or court appearances, and employs advanced remote communications technology that is usable by those with less than ideal Internet connections in order to foster close responsive client contact at a distance, while still ensuring availability for in-person meetings.

Firm’s Central Location & Proximity to Federal & Provincial Crowns

When nothing short of face to face contact will suffice, it’s important to know that the firm is geographically located close to the headquarters of most federal ministries like Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, the Department of Justice, Privy Council Office, Treasury Board and Department of Finance, all of whom the firm has extensive experience dealing with. The firm is likewise located close to the main registries of the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court of Canada.

The firm is a day trip away from Ontario’s Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, and the Ontario Regional offices of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and Indigenous Services Canada which it likewise knows well. Although further afield, the firm also has extensive experience dealing with British Columbia’s Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation in Victoria, Nova Scotia’s Office of Aboriginal Affairs in Halifax, the Atlantic Regional Offices of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada in Amhurst, as well as with their Manitoba Regional Offices in Winnipeg and British Columbia Regional Offices in Vancouver.

No Obligation Initial Contact Assessment

Prospective clients are invited to reach out to us by webform below, email at info@acmlawfirm.ca, toll-free telephone at 1-855-363-6646 or any other means for a no-obligation assessment of how we might be able to help you.

The LinkedIn Indigenous & Aboriginal Law Canada Group

Gordon S. Campbell is the founder and moderator of the LinkedIn Group Indigenous & Aboriginal Law Canada. The group aims to be a dynamic discussion forum for emerging Indigenous and Aboriginal multidisciplinary legal issues in Canada, including jurisprudence, policy, governance, and traditional knowledge.

You can click the button below to directly access the group, however if you don't already have a free account with LinkedIn you’ll need to register, search for and request to join the group in order to access its content - but Gordon promises to promptly approve your membership. 

Further Reading

a. Articles

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About What the Supreme Court of Canada Thinks of Indigenous and Aboriginal Rights, Treaties and Title in 1,523 Words - And Why We Still Have So Much Work to Do

Top 3 Things Not to Do if You Hope to Fulfill The Duty to Consult Indigenous Peoples in Canada

Why You Should Assert Your Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Criminal Rather Than Civil Court

Indigenous-Crown Diplomacy Success: Negotiating with the Feds and Provinces In & Out of Normal Channels - The Multi-Pronged Approach

b. Precedent-Setting Judgment Summary Updates

Treaty Land Entitlement Committee v. Canada, 2021 FC 329

R. v. Desautel, 2021 SCC 17

Williams Lake v. Candaa, 2021 FCA 30 and Iskatewizaagegan No. 39 Independent First Nation v. Winnipage (City), 2021 ONSC 1209