Beaver Lake Cree Nation attempts to recoup legal costs

A northern Alberta First Nation is seeking to have the provincial and federal governments ordered to pay its legal costs as it attempts to forge ahead on a lengthy court battle over treaty rights.

Beaver Lake Cree Nation first filed a statement of claim against the government in 2008, alleging the Crown had authorized so much non-Aboriginal usage for development of industries such as oil and gas, agriculture and forestry that the cumulative effect has significantly impeded the way of life for members of the nation, thereby violating their rights under Treaty 6, according to an advanced costs application filed in Edmonton’s Court of Queen’s Bench on April 18.

Beaver Lake Cree Nation is located about 220 km north of Edmonton.

The application argues the governments should pay Beaver Lake Cree’s costs because it is in the public interest for a Canadian court to rule for the first time on whether the Crown is constitutionally obliged to “assess and manage cumulative impacts” on treaty land.

To pay for the work that went into the voluminous advance costs application, the community fundraised for months, Beaver Lake Cree Nation treaty co-ordinator Crystal Lameman said Friday.

Raven Trust, a group that helps fund legal defence funds for Indigenous cases, has helped Beaver Lake Cree pay some of its expenses, and JFK Law Corporation, a Vancouverbased law firm, has also been doing some of the legal work pro bono.

“If we didn’t have that, I can honestly tell you that the Beaver Lake Cree would have probably had to give this case up a long time ago,” Lameman said.

She said leaders in her community have made tough decisions about whether to continue fighting for their treaty rights when they have pressing expenses related to housing and education for citizens.

Though courts have ruled the case should go to trial, the Crown has made a number of failed applications to strike the claim, the application argues. To defend against the strike applications, Beaver Lake Cree spent about $1.8 million.

“That’s what we’re feeling right now, is Canada and Alberta pushing for an end to this case by attrition, because that’s all they have,” she said.

Lameman said the claim is not about financial gain for the nation, which she said has rejected settlement offers.

“The goal of this is for us to determine what development looks like within our traditional territory, and to ensure that it is in line with our inherent and treaty rights,” she said.

A date for the application to be heard has yet to be scheduled, but Lameman said they are hopeful to argue it soon.

“Our nation is ready to go to court,” she said.