Indigenous Land Rights in Australia: Lessons for a Canadian Northern Corridor

Abstract

The Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) research project is currently exploring the concept of creating a pan-Canadian infrastructure corridor consisting of a multi-modal (road, rail, pipeline, electrical transmission and communication) transportation right-of-way traversing Canada’s north and near north. With a goal of connecting Canada from north to south and coast to coast to coast, the CNC, and particularly any infrastructure built within it, would necessarily directly and indirectly affect a significant number of Indigenous communities and a diverse range of constitutionally protected rights and interests. As Canada commits to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the CNC must be conceptualized in a manner that ensures respect for the rights and interests of Indigenous communities along the corridor if it is to be a forward-looking, nation-building project.