Supreme Court finds Saskatchewan Métis challenge not an abuse of process – CBA National Magazine
Observers say the decision puts meat on the bones around the duty of the Crown to negotiate in good faith
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan’s [MN-S] 2021 challenge of uranium exploration permits issued for lands they claim title to without consultation did not amount to an abuse of process as the province claimed.
MN-S had engaged in a previous court challenge around the assertion of Aboriginal rights and title to land in northern Saskatchewan in 1994, but that action was stayed in 2005 after they declined to turn over certain documents to the court, and while they engaged in other processes with the federal government. In 2020, MN-S launched a separate suit in protest of Saskatchewan’s 2010 policy framework that stated that it did not accept any First Nations or Métis assertion of Aboriginal title in the province.
