News
Regina SK (November 12, 2008) - Leave to Appeal Granted to First Nation in Pipeline case Merrilee Rasmussen and Zena Charowsky have been collaborating with another Saskatchewan law firm on an important argument on behalf of a Dakota First Nation. The Dakota First Nation has never taken treaty and asserts a credible potential claim to Aboriginal title and governance rights over its traditional territory.  Leave was recently granted by the Federal Court of Appeal to hear the First Nation's appeals from a series of decisions of the National Energy Board, which authorized the issuance of certificates to permit certain pipelines to be constructed or altered without consultation with the First Nation.  We anticipate that the appeal will be heard in 2009. ... Regina SK (November 21, 2008) - First Nations Child Protection Case Nears Completion Zena Charowsky has been working on a child protection file involving a First Nations child and non-Aboriginal foster parents. Zena represents the child’s maternal grandparents, who are seeking custody of the child. The Ministry of Social Services’ application to change the order from long-term to permanent, which would ultimately permit the child to be adopted by the foster parents, is currently before the court. The case raises important issues concerning the value to the child of keeping the family intact , the importance of the child’s culture and heritage, and it calls into question some of the Ministry's practices. Written arguments will be completed by mid-December and a decision in the case is expected early in the New Year. ...