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Labrador native group threatens to take Ottawa to court over Muskrat Falls

Muskrat Falls, on the Churchill River in Labrador, is shown in a Feb., 2011 file photo. CP/Paul Daly

HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N.L. – A native community council has voted to take the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to court over the damming of a Labrador river as part of the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project.

The NunatuKavut Community Council says it approved a motion to file an application in Federal Court for a judicial review.

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The group says it is fighting the department’s decision to allow Newfoundland and Labrador Crown utility Nalcor to proceed with a dam on the Churchill River.

NunatuKavut asserts that the permit was issued without proper consultation of its group, which represents the Inuit-Metis of southern Labrador.

The council claims damming the river will cause significant and permanent environmental damage and harm the fishery.

NunatuKavut has long been embroiled in a dispute over the $7.7-billion hydro project on environmental grounds, arguing the development is being pushed through its territory.

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