Indigenous Law and Environmental Governance in Canada in 2026

ABSTRACT: How might the Carney government’s major resource projects agenda—particularly the creation of the Major Projects Office to fast-track approvals on Indigenous lands—affect Indigenous laws and the state’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples? This talk explores this question drawing on contemporary examples of Indigenous resistance rooted in Indigenous laws (stories, ceremonies, art, and land-based practices). 

LINDSAY BORROWS is an Assistant Professor and holds the Queen’s Law Professorship in Indigenous Law and Governance. Prior to joining Queen’s in 2022, she worked as a lawyer and researcher at the Indigenous Law Research Unit (University of Victoria Faculty of Law), and as a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law. In both positions she provided legal support to Indigenous communities and organizations engaged in the revitalization of their own laws for application in contemporary contexts. She has worked on community-engaged projects with different legal traditions including Anishinaabe, Denezhu, Haíɫzaqv, Nlaka’pamux, nuučaan̓uł, St’át’imc, Syilx and Tsilhqot’in. She is particularly passionate about the possibilities within land-based legal education, and since 2014 she has co-facilitated various ‘on-the-land’, community-engaged Anishinaabe Law Camps in partnership with different law schools and communities across Ontario. Her book Otter’s Journey Through Indigenous Language and Law (UBC Press, 2018) explores the connections between language and law. Lindsay is otter clan and a member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation.