Nekaneet First Nation et al. v. Shauna Buffalocalf
Councillor Roberta Francis, Councillor Christine Mosquito, Nekaneet First Nation, Chief Carolyn Wahobin
Law Firm / Organization
Phillips & Co.
Law Firm / Organization
MLT Aikins LLP
Shauna Buffalocalf
Law Firm / Organization
Howe Legal Professional Corporation
Lawyer(s)

Jeffrey M. Howe

Law Firm / Organization
SV Law
Lawyer(s)

Jamie Cockburn

- Parties: The appellants were Councillor Roberta Francis, Councillor Christine Mosquito, Nekaneet First Nation, and Chief Carolyn Wahobin. The respondent was Shauna Buffalocalf.

- Subject Matter: After an election for the Chief and Council of Nekaneet First Nation, the appellant, who unsuccessfully sought re-election as councillor, challenged the election of the new Chief Carolyn Wahobin based on her ineligibility to be a candidate under Nekaneet law due to an alleged outstanding debt to the First Nation. The appellant raised numerous issues on the merits involving the application judge’s reasonableness review, including the interpretation of the Nekaneet Constitution and the timeframe of the appointments of the Nekaneet Appeal Body’s members after the expiration of their predecessors’ office term.

- Ruling: The appeal court set aside both the Federal Court judgment in file A-193-23 and the Federal Court order in file A-276-23. The appeal court found that it need not and could not deal with the issues raised by the appellant because neither the Federal Court nor the appeal court had jurisdiction over the substratum of the parties’ dispute. The appeal court held that the Federal Court erred in concluding that it had jurisdiction to judicially review the declaration dissolving the Nekaneet Government.

- Date: The hearing was set on June 19, 2024. The court released its decision on Aug. 12, 2024.

- Venue: This was a federal case before the Federal Court of Appeal.

- Amount: The appeal court ordered that both parties should bear their own costs in this court and the court below.

Federal Court of Appeal
A-276-23
Aboriginal law
$ 0
Other
11 October 2023