Wed Feb 13, 6:55 PM
CBC
The legal battle between the federal government and the Ka'agee Tu First Nation over development in the Northwest Territories seems to have calmed for now, as lawyers for the government dropped an appeal of a Federal Court ruling siding with the First Nation.
The July, 2007 ruling said the government violated the band's right to meaningful consultation in 2005, when it approved Paramount Resources' application to drill several new oil wells in the Cameron Hills area.
The Ka'agee Tu, based in Kakisa, N.W.T., had raised concerns about the proposed expansion in the Cameron Hills area - which the band claims is its traditional hunting grounds and source of drinking water - even though it has no settled claim to the land.
Allan Landry, a former Ka'agee Tu chief who is now the band's oil and gas adviser, told CBC News that Ottawa's decision to abandon the appeal on Friday means a lot for his community.
"Well, it's not going to cost us any more money! I mean, this whole process and also the regulatory process [cost] roughly, hard to say, I think it was close to $1 million," Landry said Wednesday.
"We won all our court cases against them, I think there was about five of them all in total. None of them have been appealed as of last Friday, that I know of. They have to sit down and consult with us and accommodate us where possible."
The Federal Court's decision stated that the Ka'agee Tu must be consulted about development throughout every step of the regulatory process.
Landry says consultation has moved ahead between Paramount, the federal government and the First Nation. They are starting to negotiate compensation for the Ka'agee Tu, he added.