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Sparrow Decision


SPARROW DECISION was a legal case with profound implications for ABORIGINAL RIGHTS in BC. Ronald Sparrow, an elder of the X'muzk'i'um (MUSQUEAM) First Nation in VANCOUVER, was charged in May 1984 with FISHING with an illegal net. He was convicted, but 2 years later the BC Court of Appeal overturned the decision. In 1990 the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the appeal court, ruling that the aboriginal right to catch fish for food is protected by Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act 1982 and takes priority over other users of the resource. Section 35(1) affirms the aboriginal and treaty rights of aboriginal people; Sparrow was the first case involving it to reach the Supreme Court. See also FIRST NATIONS OF BC.