Supreme Court will not hear ACFN appeal

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation’s bid to block a ruling on Shell’s Jackpine oilsands mine expansion in northern Alberta. In October 2012, ACFN put forward a Constitutional challenge asking the Joint Review Panel to decide whether Crown consultation on the Shell application was sufficient. The JRP ruled it did not have the jurisdiction to consider ACFN’s constitutional questions and that any determination of Crown consultation would be premature. ACFN filed an appeal of the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision with the Supreme Court of Canada in January 2013. “We are truly disappointed with this decision as we have diligently proceeded through legal avenues to have our rights upheld,” said ACFN Chief Allan Adam, in a news release.