Aboriginal Court Party Set to Tour the Northwest

Aboriginal Court Party Set to Tour the Northwest

Friday, December 01, 2006 at 15:33

A new northern court circuit is preparing to get off the ground.

On December 5th, a recently-created Aboriginal court party will begin hearing cases on the Buffalo River Dene Nation.

After that, the court party will travel to other bands within the Meadow Lake Tribal Council every week.

MLTC Justice Coordinator Joanne Roy says both a Cree-speaking and Dene-speaking Justice of the Peace will be available to hear civil, small claims and criminal cases.

She adds the new court circuit could help eliminate many “failure to appear” charges, since band members will no longer require funds to travel to attend court.