SCOC dismisses appeal from Sask. government involving Metis group

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The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal from the Saskatchewan government over a lawsuit alleging a Metis organization wasn’t consulted over uranium exploration permits.

The unanimous ruling issued Friday lets Metis Nation Saskatchewan proceed with its legal action against the province, after permits were granted more than three years ago in northwest Saskatchewan near Patterson Lake.

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The court says it was not an abuse of process for Metis Nation Saskatchewan to sue the province on the issue.

“Although abuse of process is possible in proceedings involving Indigenous litigants, the unique context of Aboriginal rights litigation must always be borne in mind,” the decision says.

Metis Nation Saskatchewan filed a claim in 2021 against the province arguing it had Aboriginal title and rights to the land where NexGen Energy Ltd. received the permits.

Saskatchewan argued the claims were an abuse of process, as Metis Nation Saskatchewan has other lawsuits against the province over consultation issues.

A Court of King’s Bench judge sided with Saskatchewan and struck portions of the lawsuit, but Metis Nation Saskatchewan sought an appeal and had the entire action reinstated.

The province challenged that ruling in the Supreme Court but it was also dismissed.

Metis Nation-Saskatchewan, which was scheduled to hold a news conference Friday afternoon with president Glen McCallum and vice-president Michelle LeClair, said in a press release that the decision came after “three decades of asserting its inherent rights.”

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The Supreme Court, MN-S said, “has affirmed the Constitution right of Metis citizens to be consulted on major projects that directly affect their communities and lands.”

Metis Nation Saskatchewan’s other lawsuits include one filed in 2020 alleging the province has a duty to consult the organization on land title and commercial harvesting rights.

The other legal action from 1994 seeks declarations of Aboriginal title and commercial harvesting rights on the land in the province’s northwest. In 2005, a judge stayed the decision on that case due to Metis Nation Saskatchewan not disclosing certain documents. The organization can apply to the courts to lift the stay, but it has not done so.

“The fact that there are two or more ongoing legal proceedings which involve the same, or similar, parties or legal issues, is in itself not sufficient for an abuse of process,” the decision says.

“There may be instances where multiple proceedings will enhance, rather than impeach, the integrity of the judicial system, or where parties have a valid reason for bringing separate, but related, proceedings.”

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A spokesperson for Metis Nation Saskatchewan said Friday the organization is reviewing the decision.

The Saskatchewan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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