Citizenship 9 • Donald Marshall Jr. Judicial Brief • Section 903
Citizenship 9 · Unit 2: Treaties & The Courts · Inquest Brief

The Marshall Cases: Justice & Treaty Rights

Donald Marshall Jr. • Wrongful Conviction • Supreme Court • Room 8 • Mr. Waugh

DOC ID: CIT9-JB05
SECTION 903 • 18 PTS
PAGE 1 OF 2 (FRONT)
NAME:
CODE (3 LETTERS):
SECTION: 903
DATE:
[CASE 1] Wentworth Park (1971): The Murder & The Wrongful Conviction 3 PTS
TUNNEL VISION: When police fix on one suspect and ignore all the evidence pointing elsewhere. COERCED TESTIMONY: False statements forced out of witnesses by police threats or pressure.
APRIL 1971Wentworth Park, Sydney. 17-year-old Donald Marshall Jr. reported the murder. The real killer was Roy Ebsary. Marshall served 11 years.
What made police target the reporting witness instead of the real killer?
The detectives targeted Donald instead of Roy Ebsary because…
[CASE 2] The Marshall Inquiry (1989): Systemic Racism & Gladue Rights 3 PTS
ROYAL COMMISSION: An official inquiry, led by judges, into a major failure of government or the courts. GLADUE PRINCIPLE (s. 718.2(e)): Law requiring judges to consider colonial trauma and seek alternatives to prison.
The Royal Commission’s 1989 Summary of Findings: “We find that the criminal justice system failed Donald Marshall, Jr. at virtually every turn.”
What systemic failure did this inquiry expose, and how does the Gladue Principle prevent similar injustices in sentencing today?
The inquiry exposed…    Gladue stops this by…
[CASE 3] Pomquet Harbour (1993): The Eels — Fisheries Act vs. 1760 Treaty 3 PTS
STATUTE LAW (Fisheries Act): Modern federal regulations on fishing licences, quotas, and seasons. COVENANT TREATY: Sacred, nation-to-nation peace pact guaranteeing harvesting rights that outrank ordinary rules.
AUG 1993Pomquet Harbour. Marshall caught 463 lbs of eels ($787) for rent and groceries. DFO charged him with 3 federal offenses.
ROOM SPLIT VOTE: Did Donald Marshall Jr. break the law?
YES (Broke federal Fisheries Act) NO (1760 Treaty outranks the Act)
Give the single best legal reason for your vote:
My vote is YES / NO, because…
YOU ARE THE TRIBUNAL • SECTION 903 • TEAL BARS = SENTENCE STARTERS TURN OVER FOR CASES 4, 5 & SYNTHESIS →
Citizenship 9 · Unit 2: Treaties & The Courts · Inquest Brief

The Marshall Cases: Justice & Treaty Rights

Part II: Supreme Court Ruling, Modern Clashes & Synthesis • Room 8 • Mr. Waugh

DOC ID: CIT9-JB05
SECTION 903 • 18 PTS
PAGE 2 OF 2 (BACK)
STUDENT CODE (3 LETTERS) — SAME AS PAGE 1: SECTION 903 • CASES 4, 5 & SYNTHESIS
[CASE 4] The 1999 Legal Decision (R. v. Marshall) & Moderate Livelihood 3 PTS
SECTION 35 (Constitution Act, 1982): The supreme law in Canada; protects Aboriginal and treaty rights. MODERATE LIVELIHOOD: Supreme Court test: harvesting/trading for life’s basics — food, clothing, housing. UNCEDED TERRITORY: Traditional land never surrendered, sold, or lost in war.
SEPT 17, 1999The Supreme Court (Justice Binnie) acquitted Marshall and affirmed his “moderate livelihood” right — but set no dollar amount and no season quota.
Did the Mi'kmaq surrender or sell land in the 1760 Treaty? YES NO (Mi'kma'ki is Unceded Land)
Why did leaving this definition blank create a legal time-bomb?
Leaving “moderate livelihood” undefined was dangerous because…
[CASE 5] Modern Consequences: The Two “So Whats” (2020 & 2026) 3 PTS
SELF-REGULATED HARVEST: A community managing its fishery under its own laws, outside DFO seasons. TRUCKHOUSE TRADE CLAUSE: The 1760 promise: trade freely on unceded land, no permits needed.
SEPT 17, 2020Exactly 21 years to the day after the ruling, Sipekne'katik launched its fishery in St. Mary’s Bay — the rule was still blank.
CHOOSE ONE CLASH: (A) 2020 St. Mary’s Bay Treaty Lobster Dispute (B) 2025–26 Sovereign Cannabis Raids
(A) Sipekne'katik fished outside DFO season; backlash was violent.  (B) Mi'kmaw dispensaries on unceded land were raided under the Cannabis Act.
How does your chosen dispute trace directly back to Donald Marshall Jr. and unresolved 1760 Treaty rights?
My clash traces back to Donald Marshall Jr. because…
[SYNTHESIS] Civic Responsibility: “We Are All Treaty People” 3 PTS
RECIPROCAL COVENANT: Treaties are two-way pacts. They are the legal basis allowing non-Indigenous citizens to live here in peace.
You live and go to school in Dartmouth, on unceded Mi'kmaw territory. Treaties are not just history—they are active legal pacts today. What is one realistic, concrete action a Grade 9 student can take this year to honour this treaty relationship?
THINK ABOUT: Where you spend money • What you say when people talk about treaty rights • How you refer to the land you live on • Or what you choose to learn on your own. (No general promises like “be respectful”—describe one specific, real action).
As a student living on unceded land, one concrete action I can take is…
TOTAL TRIBUNAL EVALUATION: ______ / 18 PTS SECTION 903 • HAND IN AT THE DOOR • ROOM 8