Battle over sale of Saskatchewan Crown lands going to trial: FSIN

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations says it welcomes the Federal Courtroom’s resolution to proceed to trial within the ongoing battle over the Saskatchewan authorities’s sale of Crown lands.

The Federal Courtroom dismissed the province’s request for abstract judgement within the case of Witchekan Lake First Nation v. Saskatchewan on Oct. 15 and ordered the province to pay Witchekan Lake First Nation’s prices.

Now, FSIN says the difficulty will go to trial.

“By promoting off Crown lands, the province is making it very tough for First Nations to fulfil their Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) and particular declare settlement agreements, and we have now much less lands on which to train our constitutionally protected inherent and treaty rights,” mentioned Chief Anne Thomas of Witchekan Lake First Nation.

“We’ve tried to cause with the province, however have met roadblock after roadblock. Going to courtroom will not be our most popular choice, nevertheless it has been pressured on us.”

Witchekan Lake First Nation first filed a press release of declare in Federal Courtroom in October of 2019, arguing that the province of Saskatchewan had breached the phrases of the Saskatchewan TLE Framework Agreement by promoting Crown lands with out offering correct discover or first proper of refusal.

The province had been promoting Crown land by on-line auctions since 2017 and thru different various land sales since 2008.

In a press release to World Information, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture mentioned, partly:

“The Authorities of Saskatchewan is dedicated to resolving excellent Treaty Land Entitlement claims in Saskatchewan. So far, Saskatchewan has transferred extra acres to order standing below our Treaty Land Entitlement Agreements than some other province in Canada…. Land included in any sale or lease course of is first confirmed to not be a part of an lively TLE choice.”

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