In January 1997, the Chief and Councillors of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation sued Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, and the Queen in Right of Canada over 10,000 liters of spilled diesel fuel that contaminated their land, soil, water and air in the vicinity, in a claim for nuisance.
Recently, in Bighetty v. Manitoba, the MC Cree Nation sought a motion to amend their Statement of Claim because the named plaintiffs in their suit were individuals – the Chief and Councillors, and not the Band itself. They were individually named because in 1997, the law was “unclear” as to whether or not an Indian Band had legal status to sue. Since then, however, the law has evolved so that an Indian Band can sue and is a proper party to be named as a plaintiff for this type of nuisance claim.
None of the respondents objected to the motion and all of the named plaintiffs except one, agreed to be replaced by the Band as the sole named plaintiff. The lone standout was a Ms. Castel, who has not been a representative of the Band since 2008. She did not consent to the Band’s request because she believed the settlement failed to protect indiviual Band members for claims of ill health from the diesel spill or, at the very least, wanted to protect her own right to advance such a claim.
The judge approved the motion to have the MC Cree Nation as the sole plaintiff.
Turtle Talk 