This book tells the story of a First Nation’s single-minded quest for justice. In 1958, the federal government leased part of the small Musqueam Reserve in Vancouver to an exclusive golf club at below market value. When the band members discovered this in 1970, they initiated legal action. Their tenacity led to the 1984 decision in Guerin v. The Queen, whereby the Supreme Court of Canada held that the government has a fiduciary duty towards Indigenous peoples. Jim Reynolds, who served as one of the legal counsel for the Musqueam, provides an in-depth analysis of this landmark case and its impact on Canadian law, politics, and society. By recognizing that the Musqueam had enforceable legal rights, the Guerin case changed the relationship between governments and Indigenous peoples from one of wardship to one based on legal rights. It was a seismic decision.

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Jim Reynolds is an associate counsel with Mandell Pinder LLP and former general counsel for the Musqueam Indian Band in Vancouver. He has practised, taught, and written about Aboriginal law for four decades, and has acted for clients in major litigation advancing Aboriginal rights, including the Guerin case, as well as in many economic development projects.

Jim graduated from the London School of Economics with a PhD and qualified as a barrister in England and then as a barrister and solicitor in British Columbia. His academic activities have included teaching at the LSE and the University of British Columbia, and he has been a frequent speaker at professional conferences. He has numerous publications, the most recent being Aboriginal Peoples and the Law: A Critical Introduction.