The Supreme Court of Canada issued a decision Friday in favour of the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan.
The MN-S had been embroiled in a legal battle with the Government of Saskatchewan over a land consultation dispute about mineral exploration permits in northwest Saskatchewan.
The government had given the permits to a private company for mineral exploration near Patterson Lake.
The province had met with the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan prior to approving the permits, but the MN-S said the meetings were not a sufficient consultation.
When the MN-S brought the matter to court, the government argued it was an abuse of process because the MN-S was bringing multiple actions against the government over the same legal issue.
The land in dispute was the subject of a previous land claim that had been stayed in 2004.
The government says it is their policy to not consult on outstanding land claims.
The province also pointed to a 2020 legal claim where the MN-S challenged the government’s Duty to Consult policies with the government asserting this was another argument for an abuse of process.
The Metis Nation, meanwhile, argued they were not seeking to prove the land claim or their other grievances in the 2020 court filing.
The Metis Nation says they were only arguing that a judicial review should look at whether the province failed to consult and accommodate.
A judge initially sided with the government before the Court of Appeal overturned the decision siding with the MN-S.
The matter eventually fell into the hands of the Supreme Court of Canada with the province appealing the decision of the appeals court.
The Supreme Court heard arguments on the case in November.
In its decision released on Friday, the Country’s highest court, denied the appeal from the government saying there was no abuse of process in the case.
The decision says neither the 2004 land claim or the 2020 court action met the abuse of process criteria.
The decision states that “Court procedures should facilitate, not impede, the just resolution of Aboriginal claims.”
The full decision from the Supreme Court is available here. Saskatchewan__Environment_-en
The Metis Nation-Saskatchewan held a Friday afternoon afternoon media scrum where MN-S leaders and legal representatives spoke on the decision. Audio of that scrum is available here.