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DECADES-LONG FIGHT

Federal court dismisses Waterhen Lake First Nation land, rights claim appeal

Mar 6, 2025 | 12:46 PM

The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed Waterhen Lake First Nation’s bid for compensation over the loss of traditional hunting, fishing and trapping lands, ruling the claim falls outside the court’s jurisdiction.

In a decision released Feb. 28, the court upheld a ruling by the Specific Claims Tribunal, which rejected Waterhen’s case, saying it was based on treaty harvesting rights — an issue the tribunal’s governing legislation explicitly excludes.

The northern Saskatchewan First Nation has been fighting for damages tied to the 1954 creation of the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range, which it says took more than 11,000 square kilometres of its treaty lands without consultation or compensation.

It also sought redress for the loss of commercial trapping rights and the impact of the 1930 Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, which limited its ability to hunt, fish and trap for commercial purposes.

Waterhen first submitted its claim in June 2021, but the Specific Claims Branch said in early 2022 that it couldn’t assess it under the Specific Claims Policy because it included allegations related to traditional harvesting rights — an area the policy excludes.

After months of inaction, Waterhen brought the case to the Specific Claims Tribunal in May 2022. The federal government filed a motion to strike the claim, which the tribunal granted in March 2023, ruling the case was clearly outside its jurisdiction. The tribunal said the claim involved treaty harvesting rights — a category the Specific Claims Tribunal Act explicitly excludes from its scope.

Waterhen sought a judicial review, arguing the tribunal failed to consider the long history of its claim and the evolution of government policies on specific claims.

But the appeal court ruled the tribunal had properly applied the law.

“For the reasons that follow, I am of the view that the applicant has not established that the decision is unreasonable and that its application for judicial review should therefore be dismissed,” Justice Marianne Heckman wrote, with Chief Justice Marc Noël and Justice Yves de Montigny concurring.

The 1975 claim

The decision is the latest setback in Waterhen’s decades-long fight for redress. In 1975, the First Nation and three others submitted a joint claim for losses tied to the creation of the weapons range, but Canada rejected it.

A 1995 report from the Indian Specific Claims Commission found the federal government breached its fiduciary duty by failing to ensure First Nations were compensated for lost commercial harvesting rights. Despite that finding, Canada still declined to negotiate.

Waterhen’s fight for recognition and compensation remains unresolved despite repeated attempts and a long legal battle.

Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

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