| Section Thirty-five Of The Constitution Act, 1982 |
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Information AboutSection Thirty-five Of The Constitution Act, 1982 |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SECTION THIRTY-FIVE OF THE CONSTITUTION ACT, 1982 | |
| constitution of canada | |
| aboriginal peoples in canada | |
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The provision provides that: 35. (1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed. (2) In this Act, "aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples of Canada. (3) For greater certainty, in subsection (1) "treaty rights" includes rights that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be so acquired. (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the aboriginal and treaty rights referred to in subsection (1) are guaranteed equally to male and female persons. ABORIGINAL RIGHTS Aboriginal rights protect the activities, practice, and traditions of the aboriginal peoples in Canada that are integral to the distinctive culture of the aboriginal peoples. The word "existing" in section 35(1) has created the need for the Supreme Court to define what Aboriginal rights "exist". The Supreme Court has ruled in '' R. V. Sparrow '' that, before 1982, Aboriginal rights existed by virtue of the Common Law . Common law could be changed by legislation. Therefore, before 1982, the federal Parliament could extinguish Aboriginal rights, whereas now it can no longer extinguish any rights that still existed in 1982. |
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