BLCN moves to pretrial hearing

After almost four years since beginning legal action, the Beaver Lake Cree Nation has finally moved to a pretrial hearing after a precedent-setting ruling by the Alberta Court of the Queen’s Bench that upheld the right of BLCN to challenge widespread industrial activities of tar sands exploration and extraction based on cumulative effects these activities have had. BLCN is not challenging the legality or validity of any one approval but instead their action is for treaty infringement based on the cumulative impact of over 19,000 approvals for tar sands developments that have taken place on their traditional territories around Lac La Biche over the last 15 years. This is the first time the Alberta Court Queen’s Bench has approved large-scale litigation seeking to curtail industry activity based on constitutionally protected treaty rights. “We’re grateful that the judge recommended the parties talk,” said Beaver Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Gladue.