The Supreme Court of Canada today announced that it has granted leave to appeal in the landmark case of R v. Desautel. Three levels of courts in British Columbia (most recently the BC Court of Appeal in May of this year) have confirmed that Mr. Desautel, as a Sinixt descendant, has a constitutionally protected right to hunt in Canada in the Arrow Lakes area, the traditional territory of his ancestors, despite the fact that he is an American citizen living in Washington State, and that the Sinixt were declared extinct by the Canadian government in 1956. Mark Underhill and Kate Phipps of Arvay Finlay are counsel for Mr. Desautel.
A link to the press release announcing the Supreme Court’s decision to grant leave can be found here.
