Do municipal governments embody the Crown to the extent that they owe a duty to consult with Indigenous groups when a local government decision might detrimentally impact Aboriginal rights? The authors point to two legal trends: jurisprudential recognition of administrative bodies’ ability to satisfy the duty in certain circumstances, and the expansion of the scope and role of municipal governments. The authors argue that when a province creates local governments with broad powers, the exercise of the powers conferred on the municipal governments are still subject to constitutional limits, such as the duty to consult. The article also highlights policy and practical considerations in support of this argument.

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Can a public authority avoid public law requirements, such as an obligation to act fairly, by “contracting out” the performance of its functions? In Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec v. Cyr, the Supreme Court of Canada said “no,” but it did not explain how far the Court will move the boundaries of judicial review to adapt to the growth of the private role in governance. However, there is reason to believe that the Court is moving towards a functional approach in defining state power and the location of the boundary between public and private law. This promises to be more coherent and effective than the piecemeal functional approaches that have emerged in the United States and the United Kingdom. A functional approach will prevent the lines of legal accountability to Parliament, the legislatures, the electorate and the courts from being severed by a contract between a public authority and a private party. At the same time, the emerging functional approach accepts that public law remedies should generally not be available if private law offers an adequate remedy or if applying public law would generate disproportionate costs to efficiency or would damage other public law objectives or private interests.