The content of negotiations with Aboriginal peoples is the extent to which the dominant culture will respect the rights of Aboriginal people. As the Supreme Court of Canada has indicated, the process of recognition of rights involved challenge to entrenched expectations, especially the expectations of the provincial governments. Respect for Aboriginal rights means the sharing of power. The rights enshrined in our Constitution did not arrive there by accident. They were earned and won in noble struggles in which our ancestors, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, fought for what was right, not necessarily what was in their interest.
Rights are a precious sort of law, deserving of a special place in our thinking.
It would be wrong to debase them to the status of mere interests.