Summary of Ruling in the

Bridgepoint Casino Case

On July 18th, Madam Justice Brown of the British Columbia Supreme Court handed down her ruling in the case in which the Band had challenged the decision of Richmond and the BC Lottery Corporation to allow the relocation of the Great Canadian Casino to the current Bridgepoint site. The ruling found partly for the Band and partly for Richmond and the Lottery Corporation. It rejected the Band's claim that the decisions were in breach of the Gaming Control Act. However, it went on to hold that, as an agent of the provincial government, the Lottery Corporation should have consulted with the Band prior to making the decision to allow the relocation. It held that the provincial government was aware of the Musqueam claim of Aboriginal title and that the relocation would adversely affect the claim. Under the recent decision of the Supreme Copurt of Canada in the Haida case, this knowledge triggered a duty of consultation. (The Court did not say whether the claim would ultimately be upheld by a court but said it was "prima facie" case of Aboriginal title.") It ordered that such consultations now take place.

The ruling says the extent and scope of the consultations required must take into account the strength of the Band's claim of Aboriginal title to the Bridgeport lands and leaves it to the parties to try and reach agreement on that point. If they cannot do so, they can go back to the court which will make a decision. Since the casino is already relocated, the ruling says that it would not be appropriate to close it down. It suggests that Musqueam is entitled to some kind of economic compensation but does not say what this might be. It will be up to the parties to try and negotiate an agreement and, if they cannot do so, they can go back to the court for a further ruling. On balance, this is a good decision for Musqueam and gives some recognition of the Band's claim of Aboriginal title to its traditional lands including the Bridgepoint lands. It should also result in compensation to be negotiated with the Lottery Corporation.