Comparing Water Allocation in the Western United States and Southern Alberta: Does the Crown's Fiduciary Duty to Protect the Aboriginal Interest in Reserve Lands Hold any Water?
Date
2015-07-07
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Abstract
Water allocation regimes in the Western United States and Alberta are compared to determine the applicability of the United States’ Indian reserved water rights doctrine, also known as the Winters doctrine, in the Treaty 7 area of Alberta. It is established that a significant difference in the division of powers between states and the federal government in the U.S., and provinces and the federal government in Canada, prevents application of the Winters doctrine in Canada. It is argued that the assumption of control over the Aboriginal interest in surface waters associated with Indian reserves through the North-west Irrigation Act, 1894 and the recognition and affirmation of Aboriginal and treaty rights in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 give rise to an obligation on the part of the Crown in right of Alberta to furnish priority water allocations for use on reserves in Treaty 7.
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Law
Citation
Marechal de Carteret, K. (2015). Comparing Water Allocation in the Western United States and Southern Alberta: Does the Crown's Fiduciary Duty to Protect the Aboriginal Interest in Reserve Lands Hold any Water? (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25372