APTN National Interview

In late December, Justice Church, of the British Columbia Supreme Court in Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. v. Huson 2019 BCSC 2264, granted an interlocutory injunction in favour of the plaintiffs, Coastal GasLink, against the defendants, members of the Dark House belonging to the Wet'suwe'ten Nation, restraining the defendants from blockading the Morice West Forest Service Road at the Morice River Bridge and preventing access to the area to the west of the Bridge Blockade, which is accessible by vehicle using the Morice West FSR.

In early January, APTN National news asked me to comment on the Indigenous law aspect of the decision, which the defendants had argued with respect to Wet’suwet’en law. For my APTN National interview with Jamie Pashagumskum: find it here.

The legal context regarding the Wet'suwe'ten Nation has changed a lot since January, as there were national and international protests as a result of this decision. In early March, the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and citizens of the Wet’suwet’ten Nation met and came to a tentative deal regarding this issue. The contents of the agreement are not known at this time.

This issue was widely covered by APTN and there is a lot of information available online: here.

Everyone's Canada

I was recently asked to share my story for the newly formed non-profit called Everyone’s Canada, which is based in Edmonton, Alberta. This organization is highlighting individuals from across Canada with the aim of challenging the narratives about belonging in Canada. I was not quite sure what I wanted to write about after being asked, but after watching an episode of “This is Us” on television, I felt inspired to write about what I knew— my own experience, my family and how they inspire me.

Here’s my post below:

“What does it mean to be a Ts’msyen and Dene citizen. These are questions that my supervisor Dr. Val Napoleon has tasked me with, when thinking critically about the countless ways in which it means to be a Canadian citizen or how Canadian law is enacted. But what does it mean for Indigenous law to be practiced? There are certain rights, responsibilities, and obligations that I have as a Ts’msyen citizen, that is part of the Ts’msyen legal system. I am part of the Ts’msyen nation on my mothers side of the family. I am also Dene with Métis ancestry from my father’s side of the family.

Within the last generations of my family, there was a move from the North to the South. My grandmother moved from the small Ts’msyen community of Lax Kw’alaams to Prince Rupert in Northern British Columbia. She then moved to Vancouver along with my mother and most her family in the 1960s. My late father was from a small Dene community along the East Arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories called Łutselk’e. Much of my father’s side of the family continue to live in Yellowknife. But after my father left residential school he ended up in Vancouver, which is where he met my mom. I was born and raised in Vancouver until I finished law school. I moved to Toronto to article at Aboriginal Legal Services, and later worked as a human rights lawyer. I was not the first person to go to law school in my family. My aunty Valerie Conrad went to the University of Victoria and graduated with her law degree. I have so many aunties that inspire and support me to be a critically engaged person and continue to ask these difficult questions.

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I come from a long line of very strong, resilient, and brilliant woman. They have passed down teachings from their mothers and instilled in me a strong sense of dignity and pride in what it means to be both Ts’msyen and Dene. To me, this is part of what it means to be a Ts’msyen and Dene citizen.” — Christina, Victoria/Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples territory

CBC: Daybreak North Interview

On February 15th, 2019, I was interviewed for CBC’s Daybreak North by Carolina de Ryk about my legal research as a junior scholar, involvement with the Yellowhead Institute as a Research Fellow, the importance of the Yellowhead Institute, and our event in Prince Rupert during the 60th All Native Basketball Tournament, which was held that same day.

If you haven’t yet heard of the Yellowhead Institute, it’s an Indigenous-led think tank based out of Ryerson University. They publish policy briefs and reports on Indigenous issues from across Canada. When the Yellowhead Institute launched in September, I became part of their inaugural group of Research Fellows. I will be publishing with them in the near future.

Listen to my interview here to learn more about it! I was interviewed at 1:49 minutes into the taping.

Portraits on the Wall: The Swearing in Ceremony of Chief Justice Wagner of the Supreme Court of Canada

When I recall myself as a young Indigenous child growing up in East Vancouver, I would not have thought that one day I would attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Justice at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa.  That wasn’t in the realm of possibility for me. I cared more about watching shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch and playing outside with my friends. How different was I to the many Indigenous youth growing up today in Canada?

This past Monday, Chief Justice Wagner was appointed to the Supreme Court. For the first time in history, a Chief Justice invited the Indigenous Bar Association to the swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court.  Chief Justice Wagner’s invitation was most appreciated.  When I entered the building, it became glaringly apparent that as an anglophone I’ve prized English over French. I was unable to understand the French security guard’s simple directions about where to put my bag. Over the course of the morning, this happened again and again as I listened to many speeches oscillating between English and French.

For most of my life in Canada, I have I never felt the imperative to learn or speak French. I have traveled to places where French is the primary language and I usually get by in English, but I always felt like I was missing out on the conversation. In Canada’s highest court it was keenly apparent that Canada’s two official languages are equally weighed. Unfortunately, growing up in British Columbia, we began learning French only in grade six, and even then, it wasn’t treated equally. 

This past year, Justice Martin was named as a new jurist on the Supreme Court of Canada. The Indigenous Bar Association wrote that in the history of the Court, there has never been an Indigenous jurist. This was a missed opportunity. During my day at the Supreme Court, I was acutely aware of this absence. Even though Jody Wilson Raybould, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, is an Indigenous woman, there remains a poor representation of Indigenous or diverse peoples. 

As an Indigenous person, I identify as being from diverse backgrounds. I am a part of a long line of Tsimshian and Dene Indigenous ancestors born on these lands for generations, some of who were also French- and Michif-speaking Métis people. Prior to meeting Chief Justice Wagner, I looked at the portraits of former Chief Justices hanging on the walls. These portraits depicted mostly men – with the exception of former Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin – a similarity in common with most law societies and courts across the county. When will this change? 

My visit to the Supreme Court reminded me that one way this judicial representation can change is for more Indigenous lawyers to learn French so that they can are qualified for judicial appointments under the current system. In 2015, the Trudeau government implemented a bilingual requirement for all Supreme Court judges. While it isn’t written into the Supreme Court Act that jurists at the highest court be bilingual, this policy is part of a cultural mosaic that has been foundational to Canada’s Constitution and policies regarding bilingualism. But does it need to be this way? Are there more ways of being inclusive of Indigenous peoples in the justice system?

My ancestors spoke our Tsimshian Sm’alygax, Dene Chipewyan, and Michif languages. Unfortunately, I cannot speak my Indigenous languages – with the exception of a few words –  because of the imposition of colonial and assimilationist policies and dispossession from our traditional territories. When I travel in Canada, I try to learn of some of the protocols, laws, cultures and languages of the Indigenous peoples of the territories I am visiting. This is a small but important gesture to enact when we are guests on other people’s lands. It is important to include Indigenous representation and local Indigenous juries, language, leadership, and legal traditions into our Canadian courts, city chambers, legislatures, Parliament, and the Senate.

Inviting the Indigenous Bar Association was one important step that the Supreme Court of Canada has taken to build a better relationship with the Indigenous bar. Yet, much more is required to foster relationships through the court system and to honour its Aboriginal and treaty rights with Indigenous peoples.  I hope that in the following years, we will also see a painting of an Indigenous Chief Justice also adorning the walls of Canada’s highest court.