This motion was heard in the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

The Government of New Brunswick, represented by the Minister of Natural Resources, sought to resolve a situation where an Indigenous individual had occupied land that the provincial government claimed was Crown land. The legal issue before the Court was whether the respondent, who asserted Aboriginal and treaty rights to the land in question, was required to seek approval from his Indigenous community before asserting an Aboriginal right, as Canada's courts have classified Aboriginal rights as communal rights.

The Court found that the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") was currently considering cases about the communal nature of Aboriginal rights, and it held that it would be improper for a lower court to decide on the issue before the SCC released its decisions. For that reason, the Court dismissed the appeal. 

Later, in New Brunswick (Minister of National Resources) v. McCoy, 2004 CanLII 26139 (NB CA), the provincial government tried unsuccessfully to get leave to state a case based on the issues raised in this motion.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/nbca/doc/2004/2004canlii28221/2004canlii28221.html

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