Court Agrees To Review Band’s Pipeline Challenge
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 13:58
The Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation is very pleased with a court ruling yesterday.
The Federal Court of Appeal has granted leave for the court to review the action of the National Energy Board in relation to the band and whether the duty to consult is discharged on three pipeline projects by the government.
The leave is in relation to Enbridge’s Southern Lights and Alberta Klipper pipeline projects, and Trans Canada’s Keystone project.
The band made the application in August.
Standing Buffalo Chief Rodger Redman believes all bands have collective, inherent, and Aboriginal rights, regardless of whether they have signed a treaty or not.
His band is one of a handful of Saskatchewan First Nations that aren’t under treaty.
Redman says that if this court battle goes the way he thinks it should, it will be a win for all First Nations people in the country.
Redman expects this case to go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.