Jackpine challenge dismissed by Alberta Court

The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed an application from Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Métis groups for leave to appeal a decision of the Joint Review Panel to not review the adequacy of Crown consultation before deciding whether to approve Shell’s Jackpine Mine expansion project. The court’s decision was rendered Nov. 26. “If there is a violation of our constitutionally protected treaty rights it should be dealt with before this project is found to be in the public interest. A project of this magnitude couldn’t possibly be in the public interest if our rights have not been upheld and we have not been adequately consulted,” said ACFN Chief Allan Adam in a news release. ACFN is currently reviewing their options to address the lack of adequate consultation with respect to Shell’s tar sands project.