Onion Lake Cree Nation has filed a lawsuit against the Saskatchewan government, claiming Bill 88, the Saskatchewan First Act infringes on inherent treaty rights.
The Saskatchewan government said the bill, which was passed in March, is intended to reassert the province’s control over its natural resources.
The nation is arguing it was enacted without input or consultation of Indigenous people, disregarding treaties.
Bill 88 is similar to Alberta’s Sovereignty Act, Bill 1, which seeks to protect Alberta from federal laws it deems unconstitutional.
Onion Lake First Nation, which straddles the Albert and Saskatchewan border, filed a lawsuit against the Alberta government over the Sovereignty Act last year. The matter is currently before the courts.
“These lands are treaty lands, and this law directly infringes upon our treaty,” Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Lewis said when the Alberta lawsuit was filed.
Before the Saskatchewan First Act was introduced, Lewis promised that if the province were to do something similar to Alberta, they would pursue legal action.
Both Alberta’s and Saskatchewan’s respective bills have been met with controversy from other Indigenous groups.
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In January, Chief Evan Taypotat of Kahkewistahaw First Nation said First Nations should have been brought to the table long before the bill was introduced.
“We’re shut out from the province, and we’re shut out from the big companies when it comes to the sharing of resources.
“To be very clear, Kahkewistahaw First Nation will lead that fight. I’ve always said we want to get these deals done — in the boardroom, we’ll go to the courtroom, or on the land if we have to, and I stand by those comments.”
The chief warned of potential blockades if proper consultation wasn’t done.
“We have 80,000 Métis people in this province, and their rights are being disrespected,” Michelle LeClair, the vice-president of Métis Saskatchewan said in March after a third and final reading of the act in the legislature.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre has said the act doesn’t infringe on First Nations treaties, adding that its language comes specifically from the constitution.
According to the province’s website, the act amends the constitution of Saskatchewan to “clearly confirm Saskatchewan’s sovereign autonomy and asserts Saskatchewan’s exclusive legislative jurisdiction under the Constitution of Canada over a number of areas.”
It added that this includes the exploration of non-renewable natural resources, the development, conservation and management of non-renewable natural and forestry resources, and the operation of sites that generate electricity.
“This bill is not a division between that relationship and protecting treaty rights, this is a bill that is protecting our opportunity in this province from federal infringement,” Premier Scott Moe said in a March legislature session.
— with files from Global News’ Andrew Benson and Brody Langager