WINNIPEG — Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the federal government will not appeal a court ruling over land being claimed by some Manitoba First Nations.
Harper says the government will meet with the First Nations involved, but he’s given no guarantee the aboriginal groups will get the land they want.
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The Federal Court of Appeal last month upheld a lower-court ruling that said Ottawa failed to consult First Nations when it started disposing of the Kapyong Barracks.
The barracks are part of a former military base near a prime commercial area in Winnipeg.
Some Treaty One First Nations want to develop the area into an urban reserve.
The court ruled the government must consult, before the land is sold off, with four First Nations who were never given the full amount of land they were promised under Treaty One.
The court ruling does not necessarily commit the government to give the land to the First Nations, but a lawyer for two of the aboriginal groups says he hopes that will be the result.
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