Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement Breached

In the recent case of Nunatsiavut Government v. Newfoundland and Labrador¹ Justice Vikas Khaladkar of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador held that the Province had improperly calculated the Labrador Inuit revenue share from the Voisey's Bay mine and failed to discharge its duty to consult pursuant to the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement (the Treaty). The Court further ordered that the Inuit were entitled to damages.²

In addition to being a significant victory for the Labrador Inuit, the decision recognizes the Crown's obligation  to consult, reaffirms the principles of modern treaty interpretation, and finds that the Crown's fiduciary obligations apply to the administration of the revenue sharing provisions.