Skip to content

Another N.W.T. aboriginal group sues Ottawa over resource control

Another group of northern aboriginals is taking the federal government to court in a dispute over resource development.

YELLOWKNIFE — Another group of northern aboriginals is taking the federal government to court in a dispute over resource development.

The Sahtu Secretariat, which controls a large section of the central Northwest Territories, says a regulatory board Ottawa is setting up in the North violates hard-won treaty rights.

A statement of claim filed in Yellowknife says the so-called “superboard” dilutes the control locals were supposed to have as a result of their land claim.

Critics say the board was part of a deal the territorial government accepted in exchange for getting province-like powers over natural resources.

A previous lawsuit on the same issue was argued last December in Yellowknife.

No decision has been made in that claim, which was brought by the Tlicho government in the N.W.T.