Beaver Lake Cree Nation to prove anew it needs funding for suit against feds, Alberta
CTV
The Supreme Court of Canada says Beaver Lake Cree Nation may yet be entitled to having its legal fees paid in advance by the Alberta and federal governments to help it fund a long-running legal battle.
The Supreme Court of Canada says Beaver Lake Cree Nation may yet be entitled to having its legal fees paid in advance by the Alberta and federal governments to help it fund a long-running legal battle.
But in a unanimous ruling today, the top court says the First Nation will have to prove to a lower court that it needs the money.
Beaver Lake has already paid $3 million to fund a lawsuit against the provincial and federal governments first filed in 2008, and has argued it doesn’t have enough money to keep the case going until its scheduled trial date in 2024.
The First Nation turned to the courts to have the governments provide advance payments to help cover the total cost of litigation, estimated to be $5 million.
An Alberta judge in 2019 ordered the provincial and federal governments to pay Beaver Lake Cree Nation, but that was overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2020.
The Supreme Court's ruling this morning is sending the case back to the Court of Queen's Bench to review Beaver Lake's current finances and the estimated cost of litigation given the passage of time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2022.
