Once again, First Nations in New Brunswick are being forced to resort to the courts because of the refusal of successive governments to recognize and implement their rights to land and resources, despite the Supreme Court’s admonition of provincial governments to recognize and negotiate the implementation of these rights.

Yesterday, Wolastoqey chiefs announced they will be seeking the Court’s recognition of the Wolastoqey Nation’s title to their traditional territory. This follows the 2016 court filing by Elsipogtog seeking the affirmation of the Mi’kmaq Nation’s title to the Sikniktuk district in eastern New Brunswick.

“Liberal and Conservative cabinet ministers in successive governments have routinely acknowledged at public events that First Nations in New Brunswick never ceded their lands, but any attempt by First Nation leaders to negotiate the implementation of land and treaty rights has been shunned,” said David Coon, Leader of the Green Party and MLA for Fredericton-South.

 “I am calling on Premier Blaine Higgs to open negotiations around the implementation of land rights to avoid a costly and unnecessary legal battle that inevitably will end up in the Supreme Court,” said Coon.