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Many Court Cases Within Canada Regarding Indigenous People

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Many court cases within Canada regarding Indigenous people have been discriminatory. The Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) case was legally and culturally inappropriate in many ways due to the lack of care for the evidence put forth by Daniels and obvious discrimination. Thankfully, once the case reached the Supreme Court of Canada, the previous trials and decisions were put to rest and a proper and legally sound decision was made. The Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), 2016 SCC 12, [2016] 1 S.C.R. 99 case was filed by Harry Daniels in 1999. Harry Daniels wanted Metis and non-status Indian rights to be mentioned in the new constitution along side status Indians and Inuit. This would mean…show more content…
Historically, Indigenous people have faced discrimination, colonization and assimilation from the Europeans and government. Their privileges to health care, education, tax exemptions etc. are very little benefits to the horrific past Indigenous people have had to face involving the European people and government.

Before arriving to the Supreme Court of Canada, the Daniels versus Canada case started at the trial courts and moved up the court system. The judge in the trial courts decided that the term “Indians” included all Indigenous people in Canada, but made restrictions to this fact. He decided that the non-status Indians were not to be included and Metis people who met the criteria of R.v Crowley would qualify (Daniels v. Canada Indian Affairs and Northern Development, para 3). This decision disregards a person’s race and culture and focuses solely on a policy formed by the government regarding who was and was not a “status-Indian”. The case reached the Supreme Court of Canada and there were several arguments put forth by the plaintiffs
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