Vollant v. Canada, 2009 FCA 185 (CanLII)

This case was heard in the Federal Court of Appeal.

Innu claimants initiated legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Canada, claiming Aboriginal title to land in Labrador and Aboriginal rights relating to that title. The claimants asked the Court to make a number of declarations, including declarations that:

“if the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has rights in respect of lands, mines, minerals and royalties belonging to Labrador, the plaintiffs’ rights shall be subject to a trust and are an interest other than that of the Province in these lands, mines, minerals and royalties within the meaning of section 37 of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada and the Newfoundland Act”;

“any legislation of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador dealing with the lands or natural resources within the Innu family lands is unlawful, unconstitutional and of no force and effect with respect to the plaintiffs and the Innu family lands”;

“any development project, including mining, forestry, hydroelectric, railway, tourism and outfitting projects, and all related work affecting the Innu family lands are subject to the consent of the Innu families of these Innu family lands”; and

“without that consent, any development project affecting the Innu family lands is unconstitutional, unlawful, void and ultra vires and a breach of the Aboriginal rights and treaty rights of the Innu families in these Innu family lands and exceeds the rights of the Crown and the authority of the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The Federal Court of Canada held that the action was “essentially an action against the province of Newfoundland and Labrador” and that it therefore had no jurisdiction to hear the matter. It then struck the statement of claim in its entirety without leave to amend.

When the claimants appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal, the Court set aside the judgment of the Federal Court and instead ordered a stay of proceedings so that the claim could be heard in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

To read about this case in the Federal Court, go to Vollant v. Canada, 2008 FC 729 (CanLII).

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fca/doc/2009/2009fca185/2009fca185.html

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