The Crown cannot disregard Aboriginal title and rights claims that have not yet been established by a judicial decision or a land claims agreement. The honour of the Crown obliges it to consult with Indigenous Peoples who make these claims and accommodate their interests in appropriate circumstances (in this case, before granting or renewing tree farm licences to harvest timber on Haida Gwaii). The extent of the duty to consult and accommodate depends on the strength of the claim and the potential impact of the Crown's actions on it. Also, the Court said that "treaties serve to reconcile pre-existing Aboriginal sovereignty with assumed Crown sovereignty", thereby acknowledging that Aboriginal nations were sovereign prior to European colonization (see Period 1 above).