Colin Jesse Salter BA, LL.B

Colin Salter is a partner with Pape Salter Teillet LLP and specializes in Indigenous rights law, with a focus on the fiscal and business opportunities available to Indigenous peoples that build wealth and economic independence.

As a member of the legal team that worked with the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council and the Tlicho people to negotiate the Tlicho Land Claims and Self-Government Agreement, Colin helped conclude the first agreement of this kind in the Northwest Territories in 2004. His focus during the negotiations was on the fiscal and tax aspects of the agreement. He also participated in the negotiation of tax sharing agreements for both the Income Tax and Goods and Services Tax, including appearances before parliamentary committees to advocate on behalf of the sharing of taxes with Indigenous governments.

Colin also has significant experience negotiating and concluding agreements with corporations that propose developments in Indigenous homelands. Colin has assisted his clients in arranging financing for their equity participation in the projects. He has worked to guarantee Indigenous governments’ significant participation in the business opportunities that arise from a development project.

Colin believes that the fundamental principle of his work is that Indigenous people are entitled to share in the wealth generated in their homelands and that this can be achieved through negotiated agreements. These agreements, business relationships and related financings will assist Indigenous peoples to build strong and prosperous economies that respect their way of life and provide the resources for self-determination and for the well-being of their citizens.

Colin received his LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School and is called to the bar in Ontario, Yukon, Northwest Territories and British Columbia.

Colin is recognized as a “repeatedly recommended” leading practitioner in the field of Aboriginal law in the peer rankings published by Lexpert Magazine.