New Brunswick Indigenous title claim ‘an attack on industry,’ court hears

By John Chilibeck
The Daily Gleaner in Yahoo! News
April 4, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: Canada, Canada East

The Wolastoqey Nation’s attempt to recover millions of acres of privately held woodlands in New Brunswick is “an attack on an industry,” says Hugh Cameron on behalf of Acadian Timber, where 18 lawyers are battling over the Wolastoqey Nation’s title claim for over half of New Brunswick’s territory. He argued before Justice Kathyrn Gregory that she should remove Acadian Timber and other industrial defendants – all of them big, private landowners – from the claim. Cameron accused the Indigenous leaders of singling out the most successful timber companies, leaving behind mines, farms and other enterprises, as a tactic in their fight with the provincial government. …”Their case is not balanced, not reasonable. It’s frivolous, but not in a fun way, it’s vexatious.” …Cameron said he had no doubt the Wolastoqiyik would be successful in their claim against the Crown… but that doesn’t mean they can arbitrarily pick a fight with a handful of landowners.

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