Legal brief saying Nova Scotia band are a conquered people went too far:premier
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s premier distanced himself Thursday from a government legal brief that implied members of a First Nation band are a conquered people.
The brief was presented as part of the government’s case in an appeal of its approval of a plan by Alton Gas to store natural gas in salt caverns near the Shubenacadie River.
In the appeal hearing that wrapped up Tuesday before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, the Indian Brook band argued that the province had a duty to consult with it on the project.
The government brief said the Crown’s obligation to consult extended only to “unconquered people,” and that the band’s submission to the Crown in 1760 negated its claim of sovereignty and negated government’s constitutional duty to consult.