The River’s Legal Personhood: A Branch Growing on Canada’s Multi-Juridical Living Tree
Abstract
Relationships with rivers in British Columbia are often imbued with social and material toxicity. Learning from three sources of law in British Columbia—Indigenous, Canadian, and international law—this article draws out one potential remedy to the imbalanced relationships between humans and rivers through exploring the viability of declaring the rights of nature in accordance with the socio-cultural and doctrinal frameworks embedded in these three sources of law. By taking seriously storied precedents and governing practices from the ‘Namgis, Heiltsuk, and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations, this article is guided by their water relations, governance, and legal orders. In expanding Canadian conceptions of personhood, challenging anthropocentrism within section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and expanding section 35 constitutional protections, this article also leverages Canadian legal concepts and protections for remedying river relations. Drawing upon the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) further guides the process of affirming the rights of rivers, especially in light of legislation that has codified UNDRIP domestically. Braiding these three sources of law indicates that subsequent rights of nature cases should be rooted in the interpretative and analytical framework of Canada’s multi-juridical living tree.
Downloads
References
Anthon, J. (1832). An analytical abridgement of the commentaries of Sir William Blackstone on the laws of England. In four books. Together with an analytical synopsis of each book. To which is prefixed, an essay on the study of law (2nd ed.). Nicklin & Johnson.
Arstein-Kerslake, A., O’Donnell, E., Kayess, R., & Watson, J. (2021). Relational personhood: A conception of legal personhood with insights from disability rights and environmental law. Griffith Law Review, 30(3), 530–555. https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2021.2003744
Barelli, M. (2009). The role of soft law in the international system: The case of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. International Comparative Law Quarterly, 17(3), 957–983. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020589309001559
Barker, A. (2007). To steal a mountain: The theft and destruction of sacred sites on SPAET Mountain. New Socialist: Ideas for radical change, 60, 22–23. http://www.firstnations.de/media/06-1-1-barker.pdf
Borrows, J. (2002a). Living between water and rocks: The environment, First Nations, and democracy. In Recovering Canada: The resurgence of Indigenous law (pp. 29–55). University of Toronto Press.
Borrows, J. (2002b). With or without you: First Nations Law in Canada. In Recovering Canada: The resurgence of Indigenous law (pp. 3–28). University of Toronto Press.
Borrows, J. (2010). Recognizing a multi-juridical legal culture. In Canada’s Indigenous constitution (pp. 125–136). University of Toronto Press.
Borrows, J. (2015). Aboriginal title and private property. The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference, 71(5), 91–134. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr/vol71/iss1/5
Borrows, J. (2019a). Nitam-Miigiwewin: Zaagi’idiwin (Gift one: Love): Love: Law and the land in Canada’s Indigenous constitution. In Law’s Indigenous Ethics (pp. 24–49). University of Toronto Press.
Borrows, J. (2019b). Naano-Miigiwewin: Nibwaakaawin (Gift Five: Wisdom). In Law’s Indigenous Ethics (pp. 149–175). University of Toronto Press.
Broomer, G., & Di Iorio, F. (2018). Rationality as an enigmatic concept. In G. Broomer & F. Iorio (Eds.), The mystery of rationality: Mind, beliefs, and the social sciences (pp. 1–5). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94028-1_1
Bryce, C. (2008). First perspectives: Heritage Conservation Act or heritage destruction act. The Midden, 40(1), 9–10. https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/midden/article/view/15730
Burdon, P. (Ed.). (2011). Exploring wild law: The philosophy of earth jurisprudence. Wakefield Press.
Burdon, P., Drew, G., Stubbs, M., Webster, A., & Barber, M. (2015). Decolonizing Indigenous water ‘rights’ in Australia: Flow, difference, and the limits of the law. Settler Colonial Studies, 5(4), 334–349. https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2014.1000907
Business Corporations Act, S.B.C. c. 57. (2002). https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/02057_02#section30
Casumbal-Salazar, I. (2017). A fictive kinship: Making “modernity,” “ancient Hawaiians,” and the telescopes on Mauna Kea. Native American and Indigenous Studies, 4(2), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.5749/natiindistudj.4.2.0001
Cameron, A., Graben, S., & Napoleon, V. (Eds.). (2020). Creating Indigenous property: Power, rights, and relationships. University of Toronto Press.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK). 1982, c. 11.
Carter v. Canada (A.G.) [2015]. 1 S.C.R. 331. https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/14637/index.do
Clifford, R. K. (2016). WSANEC legal theory and the fuel spill at Selektel (Goldstream River). McGill Law Journal, 61(4), 755–793. http://doi.org/10.7202/1038488ar
Cooke, J., Oreskes, N., Doran, P.T., Anderegg, W.R.L., Verheggen, B., Maibach, E.W., Carleton, S.J., Lewandowsky, S., Skuce, A.G., Green, S.A., Nuccitelli, D., Jacobs, P., Richardson, M., Winkler, B., Painting, R., & Rice, K. (2016). Consensus on consensus: A synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 11(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002
Collins, T. & Esterling, S. (2019). Fluid personality: Indigenous rights and the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Melbourne Journal of International Law, 20(1), 197–220. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/agispt.20190903016413
Coombes, B. (2020). Nature’s rights as Indigenous rights? Mis/Recognition through personhood for Te Urewera. Espace Populations Sociétés. https://doi.org/10.4000/eps.9857
Constitution Act, 1867 (UK), 30 & 31 Vict, c. 3, reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, no. 5. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html
Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-12.html#h-39
Corntassel, J. (2008). Toward sustainable self-determination: Rethinking the contemporary Indigenous-rights discourse. Alternatives, 33, 105–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/030437540803300106
Corntassel, J. (2012). Re-envisioning resurgence: Indigenous pathways to decolonization and sustainable self-determination. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1): 86–101. https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/18627
Cullinan, C. (2011). Wild law: A manifesto for earth jurisprudence. Siber Ink.
Curran, D., Kung, E., & Ǧáǧvi, M. S. (2020). Ǧvil̓ás and Snəwayəɬ: Indigenous laws, economies, and relationships with place speaking to state extractions. The South Atlantic Quarterly, 119(2), 215–241. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-8177735
Davies, M. (1999). Queer property, queer persons: Self-ownership and beyond. Social and Legal Studies 8(3), 327–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/096466399900800303
Davies, M. (2021). Re-forming property to address eco-social fragmentation and rift. Journal of Human Rights and the Environment 12, 13–37. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781802203349.00005
Declaration of Heiltsuk Title & Rights. (2015). http://www.heiltsuknation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Heiltsuk-Declaration_Final.pdf
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, SBC, c. 44 (2019). https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/19044
Dell, D. K. (2009). The grassroots are greener: Democratic participation and environmental policies in state politics. Review of Policy Research, 26(6), 699–727. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-1338.2009.00413.x
Dellapenna, J., & Gupta, J. (2009). The evolution of global water law. In The evolution of the law and politics of water (pp. 3-19). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9867-3
Elliot, D. 1990. Saltwater People as told by Dave Elliot Sr.: A resource book for the Saanich Native Studies Program, Janet Poth (Ed.). School District 63 (Saanich). https://wsanec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/saltwater-people-1983-delliot-sr-compressed.pdf
Escobar, E. (2020). From below, on the left, and with the Earth: The difference that Abya Yala/Afro/Latino America Makes. In Pluriversal politics: The real and the possible (pp. 31–45). Duke University Press.
Fisher, E. (2017). Troubles. In Environmental law: A very short introduction (pp. 1–6). Oxford University Press.
Gaakeer, J. (2016). “Sua cuique persona?” A note on the fiction of legal personhood and a reflection on interdisciplinary consequences. Law and Literature 28(3), 287–317. https://doi.org/10.1080/1535685X.2016.1232920
Gunn, B. (2017). Beyond Van der Peet: Bringing together international, Indigenous, and constitutional law. In UNDRIP implementation: Braiding international, domestic and Indigenous laws (pp. 29–37). Centre for International Governance Innovation.
Hawai’i House of Representatives. 31st Leg. (2021). House Bill (H.B.) 693. https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2021/bills/HB693_.HTM
Heiltsuk Tribal Council. Daduqvla qntxv Gvilasax: To look at our traditional laws [Heiltsuk], 2018. http://www.heiltsuknation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Heiltsuk_Adjudication_Report.pdf
Hernandez, J. (October 10, 2018). Heiltsuk First Nation sues sunken tugboat operation, B.C., and federal governments. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/heiltsuk-first-nation-sues-sunken-tugboat-operator-b-c-and-federal-governments-1.4857267
Hiskes, R. (2008). Environmental human rights and intergenerational justice. In The human right to a green future: Environmental rights and intergenerational justice (pp. 5–25). Cambridge University Press.
Hogg, P. (1990). Interpreting the Charter of Rights: Generosity and justification. Osgoode Hall Law Journal 28(4), 817–838. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol28/iss4/3
Hohfeld, W. N. (1913). Some fundamental legal conceptions as applied in judicial reasoning. The Yale Law Journal 23(1), 16–59. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.2307/j.ctv39x51k.6
Huihui, K., & Karides, M. (2021). Papakū Makawalu and grounded theory: A combined and collective analysis for Hawai’i land stewardship—Honuaiākea. AlterNative, 17(4), 449–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211058301
Hunt, S. (2018). Researching within relations of violence: Witnessing as methodology. In D. McGregor, J. Restoule, & R. Johnston (Eds.). Indigenous research: Theories, practices, and relationships (pp. 282–295). Canadian Scholars.
Irwin Toy Ltd. v. Quebec (A.G.), 1 SCR 927 (1989). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/443/index.do
Isaac, I. (2010). Understanding traditional ecological knowledge through Kwakwaka’wakw story. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. University of Victoria. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/3106
Johnson, D. R. (2007). Reflections on the bundle of rights. Vermont Law Review, 32(2), 247–272. https://lawreview.vermontlaw.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/johnson2.pdf
Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Learning the grammar of animacy. In Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants (pp. 48–59). Milkweed Editions.
Konsmo, E., & Pacheco, K. (2016). Violence on the land, violence on our bodies: Building an Indigenous response to environmental violence. Women’s Earth Alliance & Native Youth Sexual Health Network.
Kurki, V. (2019). Who or what can be a legal person? In A theory of legal personhood (pp. 127–152). Oxford University Press.
Lavoie, J. (2018, May 29). B.C. First Nation launches first ever case to extend Aboriginal title to ocean. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/b-c-first-nation-launches-first-ever-case-to-extend-aboriginal-title-to-ocean/
Leslie, J. (2016). Indigenous suffrage. In The Canadian encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indigenous-suffrage
L’Heureaux-Dube, C. (2000). The legacy of the persons case: Cultivating the living tree’s equality leaves. Saskatchewan Law Review 63(2), 389–402. https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/sasklr63&i=395
Macpherson, E., Borchgrevink, A., Ranjan, R., & Piedrahita, C. V. (2021). Where ordinary laws fall short: ‘Riverine rights’ and constitutionalism. Griffith Law Review, 30(3), 438–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2021.1982119
Mancuso, S., & Viola, A. (2015). Brilliant green: The surprising history and science of plant intelligence. Island Press.
Martuwarra RiverOfLife, Unamen Shipu Romaine River, Poelina, A., Wooltoton, S., Guimond, L., & Durand, G. S. (2022). Hearing, voicing, and healing: Rivers as culturally located and connected. River Research Applications, 38(3), 422–434. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3843
McGregor, D. (2018). Mino-Mnaamodzawin: Achieving Indigenous environmental justice in Canada. Environment and Society: Advances in Research, 9, 7–24. https://doi.org/10.3167/ares.2018.090102
Morris, J. & Ruru, J. (2010). Giving voice to rivers: Legal personality as a vehicle for recognizing Indigenous peoples’ relationships to water? Australian Indigenous Law Review, 14(2), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.3316/agispt.20113601
Mortiaux, R. (2021). Righting Aotearoa’s coastal marine area: A case for legal personhood to enhance environmental protection. Griffith Law Review, 30(3), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2021.2003743
Napoleon, V. (2007). Thinking about Indigenous legal orders. National Centre for First Nations Governance. https://www.law.utoronto.ca/sites/default/files/documents/hewitt-napoleon_on_thinking_about_indigenous_legal_orders.pdf
Napoleon, V. (2019). Did I break it? Recording Indigenous (customary) law. Potchefstroom Electric Law Journal 22, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2019/v22i0a7588
Napoleon, V., & Friedland, H. (2016). An inside job: Engaging with Indigenous legal traditions through stories. McGill Law Journal, 61(4), 725–754. https://doi.org/10.7202/1038487ar
Nordhaus, W. (2008). A question of balance: Weighing the options on global warming policies. Yale University Press.
O’Bryan, K. (2017a). Giving a voice to the river and the role of Indigenous people: The Whanguani River settlement and river management in Victoria. Australian Indigenous Law Review, 20, 48–77. https://doi.org/10.3316/agispt.20181011002726
O’Bryan, K. (2017b, September 25). New law finally gives voice to the Yarra River’s traditional owners. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/new-law-finally-gives-voice-to-the-yarra-rivers-traditional-owners-83307
O’Bryan, K. (2019). The changing face of river management in Victoria: The Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017 (Vic). Water International, 44(6), 769–785. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1616370
O’Donnell, E. (2018). At the intersection of the sacred and the legal: Rights for nature in Uttarakhand, India. Journal of Environmental Law, 30(1), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqx026
O’Donnell, E., Poelina, A., Pelizzon, A., & Clark, C. (2020). Stop burying the lede: The essential role of Indigenous law(s) in creating rights of nature. Transnational Environmental Law, 9(3), 403–427. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102520000242
O’Donnell, E., & Talbot-Jones, J. (2018). Creating legal rights for rivers: Lessons from Australia, New Zealand, and India. Ecology and Society, 23(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-09854-230107
Osto, K. (2010). Rationality in the domesticated dog and other non-human animals. Teorema, 29(2), 135–145. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43046833
Papineau, D. (2006). Normativity and judgement. In Philosophical essays on rationality, evolution, and probability (pp. 6–38). Oxford University Press.
Poelina, A., Taylor, K. S., & Perdrisat, I. (2019). Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council: An Indigenous cultural approach to collaborative water governance. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 26(3), 263–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2019.1651226
Quijano, A. Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies 21(2/3), 168–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601164353
Republic of Ecuador. (2008). Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador. https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Ecuador/english08.html
Ripken, S. (2019a). Philosophical dimensions of the corporate person. In Corporate personhood (pp. 58–93). Cambridge University Press.
Ripken, S. (2019b). Abolishing corporate personhood. In Corporate personhood (pp. 241–269). Cambridge University Press.
R. v. Bissonnette, SCC 23 (2022). https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/19405/index.do
R. v. Gladstone, 2 SCR 723 (1996). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1409/index.do
R. v. Morgentaler, 1 SCR 30 (1988). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/288/index.do
R. v. Sappier; R. v. Gray, 2 SCR 686 (2006). https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2329/index.do?r=AAAAAQAtUi4gdi4gU3BhcnJvdyAoMTk5MCwgU3VwcmVtZSBDb3VydCBvZiBDYW5hZGEpAAAAAAAAAQ
R. v. Sparrow, 1 SCR 1075 (1990). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/609/index.do
R. v. Vaillancourt, 2 SCR 636 (1987). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/272/index.do
R. v. Van der Peet, 2 SCR 505 (1996). https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1407/index.do
Schuster, J., & Weichselbaumer. (2022). “Just take it off, where’s the problem?” How online commenters draw on neoliberal rationality to justify labour market discrimination against women wearing headscarves. Ethnic and Racial Studies 45(11): 2157–2178. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2021.1991969
Sharpe, R., & Roach, K. (2013). Life, liberty, and security of the person and the principles of fundamental justice. In The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (pp. 230–273). Irwin Law.
Shaw, R. (2013, November 12,). Chum salmon ‘wiped out’ by 2011 fuel spill in Goldstream River. Times Colonist. https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/chum-salmon-wiped-out-by-2011-fuel-spill-in-goldstream-river-4601902
Shepsle, K. A. (2010). Rationality: The model of choice. In K. A. Shepsle (Ed.) Analyzing politics: Rationality, behaviour, and institutions (pp. 13–37). W.W. Norton.
Sinha, B. (2017, July 7). SC puts hold on Uttarakhand HC order declaring River Ganga a living entity. Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-puts-on-hold-uttarakhand-high-court-order-declaring-ganga-a-living-entity/story-IYqkaehoLhAyWfjAP8GYOO.html
Slattery, B. (2000). Making sense of Aboriginal and treaty rights. Canadian Bar Review, 79(2), 196–224. https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/scholarly_works/672/
Stone, C. (1972). Should trees have standing? – Toward legal rights for natural objects. Environmental Legal Rights 45(450), 450–501. https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/scal45&i=452
Studley, J. (2018). Legislative background to juristic personhood. In Indigenous sacred natural sites and spiritual governance: The legal case for juristic personhood (pp. 32–42). Routledge.
Tănăsescu, M. (2020). Rights of nature, legal personality, and Indigenous philosophies. Transnational Environmental Law, 9(3), 429–453. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102520000217
Townsend, J., Bunten, A., Lorns, C., & Borrows, L. (2021, June 11). Why the first river in Canada to become a legal person signals a boon for Indigenous rights. The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/opinion-muteshekau-shipu-magpie-river-personhood/
Travis, M. (2014). Non-normative bodies, rationality, and legal personhood. Medical Law Review, 22(4), 526–547. https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwu015
Tuck, R. (1941). Canada and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. University of Toronto Law Journal, 4(1), 33–75.
U’mista Cultural Centre. (n.d.). The Kwakwaka’wakw Tribes. https://www.umista.ca/pages/kwakwakawakw-tribes
United Nations Human Rights. (2013). The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A manual for national human rights institutions. Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/IPeoples/UNDRIPManualForNHRIs.pdf
von der Porten, S., Corntassel, J., & Mucina, D. (2019). Indigenous nationhood and herring governance: Strategies for the reassertion of Indigenous authority and inter-Indigenous solidarity regarding marine resources. AlterNative, 15(1), 62–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180118823560
W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council. (n.d.-a). Four stories of how things came to be. https://wsanec.com/four-stories-of-how-things-came-to-be/
W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council. (n.d.-b). History and territory. https://wsanec.com/history-territory/
Wilson-Raybould, J. (2019). We truly have come a long way… In From where I stand: Rebuilding Indigenous nations for a stronger Canada (pp. 17–28). Purich Books.
Copyright (c) 2022 Andrew Ambers
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to the Artbutus Review agree to release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported license. This licence allows anyone to share their work (copy, distribute, transmit) and to adapt it for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given, and that in the event of reuse or distribution, the terms of this license are made clear.
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
