CPICL Hosted Seminar on the Evolution of State–Indigenous Relationships, Featuring Professor Paul L A H Chartrand

On 26 February 2025, CPICL welcomed Professor Paul L A H Chartrand for a seminar titled “Evolution of the State – Indigenous Relationship in Canada: Lessons for Australia?”

Professor Chartrand—an Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel (IPC), retired Professor of Law, and member of the Law Society of Manitoba—brought decades of experience advising Aboriginal organisations on constitutional reform in Canada and participating in United Nations and inter-American discussions on Indigenous rights. He is widely respected for his contributions to public advisory bodies, including Canada’s Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

During his presentation, Professor Chartrand examined the turning point in Canada’s constitutional history: the 1982 amendment that recognised and affirmed existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of Indigenous peoples. He discussed the profound legal and political impacts this development has had on Canada’s reconciliation efforts, and he explored how the Australian context might draw instructive lessons from these experiences.