Manto Sipi Cree Nation begins legal action against province

The Manto Sipi Cree Nation filed a statement of claim Sept. 9 in the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench against the province of Manitoba. The claim centres on the failure of the province to resolve outstanding mining claims that encumber ancestral lands selected by the First Nation and that should be acquired and converted to reserve land. Manto Sipi Cree Nation alleges that Manitoba failed to uphold the honour of the Crown and to properly implement the First Nation’s outstanding treaty land entitlement under Treaty No. 5. “We have tried to resolve this dispute with Manitoba by other means but we have been forced to now file this claim. The honour of the Crown requires the province to implement our agreement in a fair and equitable way. If we need the courts to remind the province, then so be it,” said Chief Michael Yellowback.