April 18, 2008
Around Nunavut
NTI spared from suing GN
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. will not be required to sue the Government of Nunavut for any alleged failure to implement the Nunavut land claims agreement, Justice Earl Johnson ruled last week.
In a 40-page written judgement that contains a lengthy political science lesson on the constitutional status of the northern territories, as well as an analysis of relevant case law, Johnson found that the territorial government is not a party to the Nunavut land claims agreement.
For that reason, Johnson rejected an application from the federal government that would have required NTI to make the Government of Nunavut a defendant in the billion-dollar lawsuit they launched against Ottawa on Dec. 7, 2006.
Federal lawyers say the GN, not Ottawa, is responsible for implementing some parts of the agreement, such as government employment provisions for Inuit contained in Article 23.
But Johnson said even if the GN is found to carry some blame for implementation failures, the GN can be dealt with as a third party to the lawsuit, not as a defendant.
"The relief sought by NTI is against Canada, not the GN. If there is an ultimate finding at trial that the GN is liable for some part of the governmental responsibility, it will impact the GN financially and it could also affect its legal rights. However, the rights of the GN can be addressed through third party proceedings," Johnson said in his decision.
NTI filed its lawsuit after failing to reach a second 10-year implementation contract with Ottawa for the land claim agreement. Their statement of claims alleges numerous breaches of the agreement.
