A group of citizens in northern Saskatchewan have turned to the courts in an effort to stop a deal between the Village of Pinehouse and two uranium companies.
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in a Prince Albert courthouse by Regina lawyer Larry Kowalchuk.
It was launched by about 30 residents and a few groups who oppose a $200-million collaboration agreement between Areva Resources, Cameco and Pinehouse that was signed last December.
The agreement covers uranium mining and future economic development opportunities.
The residents say the agreement violates citizens’ rights to use the land in areas such as trapping and hunting.
They add numerous concerns over the deal haven’t been answered including unknown impacts on the environment, a lack of public debate and potential conflicts of interest by some of the community officials involved in the signing.
The plaintiffs also say efforts to gain more information about the benefits of the deal have gone nowhere despite several freedom of information requests.
In addition to seeking to declare the deal null and void, the residents also want to be provided with more information about the environmental impacts of the agreement as well as money to study the effects of uranium mining over the past 40 years.
Pinehouse Mayor Mike Natomagan and Métis Local President Vince Natomagan are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
None of the allegations contained in the document have been proven in court.