Guerin v. The Queen
E450350
Guerin v. The Queen is a landmark 1984 Supreme Court of Canada decision that established the federal government’s fiduciary duty toward Indigenous peoples in its management of reserve lands.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Canadian constitutional law case
ⓘ
Supreme Court of Canada decision ⓘ aboriginal law case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
Aboriginal law
ⓘ
Administrative law ⓘ Constitutional law ⓘ |
| citation | [1984] 2 S.C.R. 335 ⓘ |
| country | Canada ⓘ |
| court | Supreme Court of Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1984-11-01 ⓘ |
| defendant | The Queen in right of Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| foundCrownLiable | true ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Guerin et al. v. The Queen NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
breach of the Crown’s fiduciary duty can give rise to an award of damages
ⓘ
the Crown’s obligations to Indigenous peoples are sui generis and trust‑like in nature ⓘ the federal Crown owes a fiduciary duty to Indigenous peoples in its administration of reserve lands ⓘ |
| impact |
expanded Crown liability for mismanagement of Indigenous lands
ⓘ
foundational case for Canadian Aboriginal law ⓘ influenced later cases on the honour of the Crown ⓘ |
| influencedCase |
Delgamuukw v. British Columbia
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
R. v. Sparrow NERFINISHED ⓘ R. v. Van der Peet NERFINISHED ⓘ Wewaykum Indian Band v. Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal ⓘ |
| languageOfCourt | English ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
Crown liability in damages
ⓘ
fiduciary duty of the Crown toward Indigenous peoples ⓘ management of reserve lands ⓘ |
| legalSystem | common law ⓘ |
| locationOfCourt | Ottawa NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plaintiff | Ronald Edward Guerin NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plaintiffCollective | Musqueam Indian Band NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentStatus | leading authority on Crown fiduciary duty to Indigenous peoples ⓘ |
| principleEstablished |
Crown’s discretionary control over Indigenous lands gives rise to fiduciary obligations
ⓘ
Indigenous interests in reserve lands are enforceable property interests ⓘ recognition of a sui generis fiduciary relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples ⓘ |
| recognizedInterest | equitable interest of Indigenous peoples in reserve lands ⓘ |
| recognizedRightOf | Musqueam Indian Band NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| region | British Columbia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Aboriginal land rights
ⓘ
Crown–Indigenous relationship NERFINISHED ⓘ fiduciary duty ⓘ |
| relatedLegislation | Indian Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| remedy | damages ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | lease of reserve lands for a golf course ⓘ |
| subjectOf |
Canadian constitutional law scholarship
ⓘ
Indigenous rights scholarship ⓘ |
| typeOfDutyRecognized | sui generis fiduciary duty ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1984 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.