Senior Fellow Brian Giesbrecht warns modern Indigenous land deals in B.C. risk undermining property rights by granting expansive title and development authority. As courts expand obligations, uncertainty grows, fuelling debate over equality, governance, and Canada’s constitutional future.
Senior Fellow Tom Flanagan shows that Ottawa’s reluctance to contest Indigenous class-action lawsuits has turned cash settlements into default federal policy. A recent $67 million deal for Métis who attended a non-designated residential school sets a precedent, despite a shaky legal footing. More Métis claims are now advancing using the same playbook. With governments preferring negotiation over court battles, legal scrutiny is bypassed, liabilities balloon, and incentives for litigation multiply. Flanagan warns that unless this approach changes, settlement culture will deepen further at enormous public cost.
A groundbreaking court decision in BC has shaken property rights across Canada. The Cowichan Tribes land ruling has left homeowners in Richmond unsure if they even own their land anymore.
Many Indigenous communities support pipelines and resource projects—but their voices are often drowned out by noisy activists and media narratives. Engineer and policy expert John Desjarlais, who works closely with First Nations, explains what Indigenous communities actually want and why their perspectives are ignored.
Big Topics & Big Ideas
Big Topics & Big Ideas
Rodney A. Clifton spotlights Tom Flanagan’s new report showing Indigenous treaty disputes have ballooned to billions. He warns that taxpayers face unsustainable costs unless Ottawa restores legal rigour, enforces transparency and caps new claims
Big Topics and Big Ideas
Joseph Quesnel examines the growing conflict between Indigenous rights and private property ownership. Using the 2024 dispute between the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation and the Town of South Bruce Peninsula as a case study, he warns that governments and Indigenous groups must collaborate before court cases escalate. Quesnel calls for universal rules on land ownership to prevent confusion and proposes constitutionalizing property rights to secure fair resolution. Click to read more on how this legal battle could reshape Canada’s property landscape.
Senior Fellow Rodney Clifton calls for renewed scientific scrutiny of two major Canadian narratives: COVID-19 policies and the Kamloops residential school claims. He argues that both bypassed rigorous, evidence-based evaluation, favouring politicized consensus. Critics of pandemic measures, like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, were wrongly dismissed despite valid concerns. Similarly, the unverified mass grave claims in Kamloops were accepted without forensic proof. Clifton urges a return to the scientific principle of “trust but verify” to safeguard truth, public policy, and democracy.
A revived push for the Northern Gateway pipeline has sparked fresh debate over Indigenous-led energy development. Frontier Fellow Maureen McCall highlights how leaders like Calvin Helin and Dale Swampy argue that Canada’s energy future—and its global competitiveness—depends on Indigenous equity, regulatory reform, and responsible resource partnerships. With support growing among First Nations for LNG and pipeline projects, they are calling for the repeal of restrictive laws and the embrace of Indigenous leadership to advance both economic reconciliation and national energy security.
Policy in Five Video
An Oscar-nominated documentary spreads the explosive, evidence-free claim that Catholic priests impregnated Indigenous students and incinerated their babies. Sugarcane fuels anti-Catholic hate, much like past Blood Libels targeted Jews. Brian Giesbrecht demands a full public inquiry into the unmarked graves hoax, church burnings, and millions in taxpayer-funded fraud. Will Canada expose the truth—or let lies rewrite history? Injustice thrives when deception goes unchallenged. Read more.