Do Tsawwassen members acquire additional rights under this treaty that other Canadians do not have?
Aboriginal people in Canada have unique legal and constitutional status that derives from the fact that they are the descendants of the people that were resident in North America long before Europeans arrived. In the early 1970s, successive court cases confirmed the existence of Aboriginal rights. In 1982, Canada’s supreme law, the Canadian Constitution, was amended to recognize and affirm existing Aboriginal rights. Courts have repeatedly stated that claims to Aboriginal rights and title are better settled through negotiation rather than litigation.
