Windspeaker story evidence in Samson case

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Lawyers acting for the federal Crown will introduce a story published in Windspeaker's April edition as evidence in Victor Buffalo versus the Queen, the landmark oil and gas case launched by the Samson Cree Nation.

Samson sources claim the move by the Crown is part of a strategy to convince Justice Max Teitelbaum that Samson lawyers are wasting the court's time with a motion to subpoena Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault as witnesses.

A short note from Alan D. Macleod, the Calgary lawyer retained by the Crown to defend its interests in the Samson case, simply states that the news story, which was based on an interview with Samson lawyer James O'Reilly, will be brought to the court's attention during the subpoena application. The note was addressed to O'Reilly and Edward Molstad, who represent Samson, and Marvin Storrow, who represents the Ermineskin First Nation, in the action.

Macleod was contacted by phone for comment. He said the story ventured out of the legal and into the political realm, and politics is something of which the court can't take notice.

"We had no problem with the story; no problem with its accuracy. We just want to point out that Samson shouldn't be using political tools in this court," he said.

Marilyn Buffalo, a spokesperson for Samson, said the government is employing a double standard with this move.

"The government has access to a very large machine, a multi-million-dollar machine, that churns out information about Indians, very manipulative information, on a daily basis. About Victor Buffalo versus the Queen, about C-7 (the First Nations governance act), about C-19 (the First Nations financial institutions legislation) and on and on," she said. "So why shouldn't our people be as informed from our perspective about current events as the rest of Canada? Windspeaker is a national newspaper that enters the home of many First Nations people. And our people are entitled to that information, the same as anybody else."

Samson sources expect the Crown will argue that the move to call the prime minister and the Indian Affairs minister is "frivolous and vexatious" and an attempt to raise the media profile of the case. Arguments began on May 12 over the Samson application to subpoena Nault and Chretien. No decision has been released.