Ongoing transparency & court documents

Status of Matter:

The Wolastoqey claim was filed on November 30, 2021, with the New Brunswick Court of King’s Bench in the trial division. Most of the named Defendants filed Demands for Particulars seeking greater detail with respect to the allegations contained in the Wolastoqey claim. No Defendant has filed a Statement of Defence and the parties are working through preliminary Motions.

Preliminary Motions:

To date, the following preliminary Motions have been filed with the Court:

As indicated above, the Court issued a decision for the preliminary Motions heard in December 2023. The Court decided in favour of the Defendants and struck the Plaintiffs request for certificates of pending litigation. In coming to its decision, the Court made certain determinations including, but not limited to, the following:

• Aboriginal title is sui generis (of its own kind or class) and encompasses the right to exclusive occupation of the land for a variety of purposes not limited to aboriginal practices, customs, and traditions;
• Aboriginal title is an interest in land, but it is not an interest registrable under the Land Titles Act or Registry Act and therefore the certificates of pending litigation based on the unique Aboriginal title interest in land are not registrable; and
• A dispute over Aboriginal title and its resolution involves the Crown and the Aboriginal group claiming title. Third parties do not owe a duty or obligation, absent claims of negligence or contract, to the Aboriginal groups claiming title.
• A copy of the decision can be found here. The decision has not yet been translated by the court and is only available in English at this time. When it has been translated, it will be updated.

Court Filings: