Two sides battle over whether Wolastoqey are meaningfully consulted – Penticton Herald

April 1, 2024

New Brunswick’s provincial government and the Wolastoqey Nation battled in court Thursday as lawyers from both sides argued whether Indigenous communities were being properly consulted or given short shrift on big forestry decisions.

For four days, legal teams representing the province, Ottawa, Indigenous leaders and big timber companies have been presenting arguments before Justice Kathryn Gregory of the Court of King’s Bench.

She’s presiding over the Wolastoqey Nation’s big title claim for more than half of New Brunswick’s territory, on the western side, on what they consider their traditional lands.

The province has presented a motion to strike out a portion of their lawsuit, asking the judge to remove more than 250,000 land parcels owned by everyday New Brunswickers and private property held by several big timber firms named as defendants in the case.

Read More: https://www.pentictonherald.ca/spare_news/article_0a370e0c-fcb5-5849-accf-fbf14a596535.html