This is an update to our March 2, 2015 article entitled Northwest Territories Supreme Court Grants Tłįchǫ Government Injunction To Delay Elimination of Wek'èezhìi Land and Water Board. On March 23, 2015, Canada filed a Notice of Appeal at the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories.
Late last month, the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories released its interlocutory decision in Tłįchǫ Government v Canada (Attorney General). The decision granted the Tłįchǫ Government an injunction to delay the elimination of the Wek'èezhìi Land and Water Board pending final determination of the litigation. The decision also delayed the federal government's plans to consolidate the Gwich'in Land and Water Board and the Sahtu Land and Water Board in favour of a restructured Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board as part of the devolution process.
In the main action the Tłįchǫ Government is alleging that Canada failed to adequately consult and that legislative changes to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act violated the Tłįchǫ's land claim agreement. The full trial on these issues is expected in mid-2016.
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