Case information

Aboriginal law — Indians reserves — Civil procedure — Representation by counsel — Judgments and orders — Summary judgments — Applicants found to be liable in trespass for farming and grazing First Nations lands without a permit — Respondent awarded damages — Whether the First Nations Land Management Act, S.C. 1999, c. 24, which empowered respondent to introduce the land management policy, is inconsistent with the treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and therefore unconstitutional under 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 — Whether applicants were accorded procedural fairness by lower courts — Whether applicants were denied their right to a fair hearing by both courts, contrary to the principles of natural justice.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The Wood Mountain Lakota First Nation No. 160 (“Wood Mountain”) commenced an action in January 2015 for an interim and permanent injunction, restraining Mr. and Ms. Goodtrack from using any of the Wood Mountain Reserve lands for agricultural and cattle grazing purposes without a permit issued under s. 28(2) of the Indian Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I 5, or in accordance with Wood Mountain’s land policy. Wood Mountain also claimed damages in trespass for loss of rent going back to 2013, damages for the loss of a government grant to which it would have been entitled had the Goodtracks obtained the permit, and special and punitive damages.
For many years, the Goodtracks engaged in a mixed farming operation on approximately 5.25 sections located on the Reserve. They never paid rent or fees of any kind to Wood Mountain for the use of the land. In 2012, Wood Mountain created a land management policy, requiring users to obtain a permit use the land and pay fees for doing so. In 2014, Wood Mountain also enrolled in the federal Reserve Lands and Environmental Management Program that provided funding to First Nations with regard to the management of their land. As a result, Wood Mountain was entitled to funding for all the Reserve land that it had under permit in 2013 and subsequent years. Despite extensive efforts on the part of Wood Mountain, the Goodtracks failed to apply for the permit. They denied that they were committing any trespass, claiming that they occupied the lands with the implied consent of the Band Council. There were several interim applications and other factors that caused delay in Wood Mountain’s action. The Goodtracks repeatedly asked for adjournments at court appearances and disregarded court imposed deadlines to file the documents required. Wood Mountain then filed an application for summary judgment. The Chambers judge found the Goodtracks to be trespassers on the land and granted a permanent injunction against them covering all agricultural land on the Reserve. In addition, he awarded judgment for $212,925 for rent that should have been paid, plus $20,000 in punitive damages. On appeal, Wood Mountain was awarded a further $6,509.20 in special damages and $155,552.62 for the loss of government funding. The applicants’ cross-appeal was dismissed from the bench.