The respondent, a Mohawk of Akwesasne, crossed the international border from the United States into Canada with goods intended for trade with other First Nations and claimed an aboriginal right exempting him from paying customs duties.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the claimed aboriginal right to bring goods across the St. Lawrence River for the purposes of trade was not established.
The evidence did not demonstrate that such trade was an integral, defining feature of the pre-contact Mohawk society.
The appeal was allowed, and the respondent was required to pay the applicable customs duties.
