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Self-government heads back to court next week

Lawsuit meant to stop negotiations

JANE GEORGE

MONTREAL – Next week, lawyers for the Kativik School Board and Makivik Corporation will face each other once again in a Montreal courtroom to debate Nunavik’s self-government negotiations.

In November, the KSB slapped Makivik, the Kativik Regional Government, the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services and the Kativik Regional Development Council with a declaration seeking a temporary stop as well as a permanent injunction on self-government negotiations.

"The purpose of the legal proceedings is that no negotiations take place," said KSB lawyer Mark Peacock.

Specifically, the KSB wants to block the use of the Nunavik Commission’s report as a basis for self-government negotiations. Central to the KSB’s complaint is a lack of consensus among the eight Nunavik commissioners, two of whom refused to sign the final recommendations.

In December, Makivik, which is also representing the other Nunavik parties against the school board, lost its bid to have two pieces of KSB evidence thrown out.

These included articles printed in Nunatsiaq News and letters to the commission from dissident Nunavik commissioner Annie Popert.

On Jan. 16, when the parties return to court, the KSB is to respond to a "motion for particulars" filed by Makivik. The motion is a call for the board to furnish more information about certain items of evidence.

Eventually, after a complete examination of the evidence, the case could move to trial.

"It is the school board’s position that we want the matter to be resolved quickly," Peacock said.

Makivik and the other Nunavik parties are represented by Montreal lawyer Peter Hutchins.

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