A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has breathed new life into a First Nation's fight to block the Alton natural gas project.

In November, government lawyer Alex Cameron argued the province didn’t have a duty to consult with the Sipekne’katik First Nation because the duty to consult extended only to “unconquered people.”

The Indian Brook band appealed the Alton Gas natural gas storage project last month, saying the province had a duty to consult.