Feds want to be excluded from Lubicon lawsuit

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Federal lawyer Ivan Whitehall says the Lubicon Indian Band is using the Alberta court as a political weapon to avoid a trail on a long-disputed land claim. This is his assessment of a copy of a written complaint the Lubicons have made to the United Nations.

The complaint mentions that several Alberta judges involved in the land claims have worked as oil company lawyers in the past.

Whitehall says the complaint offends the court's dignity.

In addition, Whitehall has asked Chief Justice Ken Moore not to grant the band's request to include Ottawa in a Court of Queen's Bench lawsuit against the province.

Moore is expected to release his decision this fall.