Cases Considered: Tsuu T’ina Nation v. Frasier, 2009 ABCA 23.
PDF Version: “Litigation by installments”: Further Developments in the Black Bear Crossing Dispute
As noted in a previous post, a February 2008 decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal effectively prevented the Tsuu T’ina Nation from enforcing an eviction notice against residents of Black Bear Crossing whose band membership was disputed until such time as the membership of the residents was resolved (see 2008 ABCA 74). The Tsuu T’ina’s application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was denied on October 30, 2008 (see 2008 CanLII 55966). Meanwhile, the parties were before the Alberta courts again when the Tsuu T’ina Nation cut off the water and utilities for the three remaining residents of Black Bear Crossing (BBC). The Tsuu T’ina Nation was held in civil contempt by Justice Jo’Anne Strekaf of the Court of Queen’s Bench for refusing to supply the residents with these services after being ordered to do so. Those orders had been made as conditions of an adjournment granted to the Tsuu T’ina in respect of its underlying action pursuing eviction of all remaining residents of BBC on October 20, 2008. The Court of Appeal had left such an action open to the Tsuu T’ina if it did not discriminate between member and non-member residents. On January 15, 2009, Justice Patricia Rowbotham of the Alberta Court of Appeal granted the Tsuu T’ina leave to appeal Justice Strekaf’s October 20, 2008 order (2009 ABCA 23). In a strange twist, however, the previous day Justice Strekaf granted the Tsuu T’ina an eviction order in respect of the one remaining resident of BBC, the other two having moved out after accepting the Nation’s offer of a year’s accommodation off-reserve (see here).