Squamish Omnibus Trust Action Filed

In 1977, Ratcliff lawyers Paul Reecke and Harry Slade (now Justice Slade) commenced an “omnibus” court action claiming against Canada for the loss of multiple pieces of reserve land that occurred during some of the worst of Colonial times when it was unlawful for First Nations to retain lawyers. That action was deliberately filed just before significant changes to the Limitations Act were made that would have barred the claims thereafter. This decisive action allowed Squamish to pursue and settle a large number of land claims, ultimately seeing the return of some very significant lands and compensation for the loss of others.