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ARTICLE · 08 DECEMBER 2014

FCA Decision Sends Strong Message: Courts Will Not Interfere With Ongoing Administrative Proceedings

The Federal Court of Appeal rendered a unanimous decision in Coldwater Indian Band et al v. The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development et al 2014 FCA 277.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration

On November 25, 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal (the Court) rendered a unanimous decision in Coldwater Indian Band et al v. The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development et al 2014 FCA 277, upholding the principle that, absent exceptional circumstances, courts must not interfere with ongoing administrative processes until after they are completed.

Brief Facts

In June 2012, Kinder Morgan Canada Inc. (Kinder Morgan) initiated an administrative process before the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada (the Minister), seeking his consent to assign two easements that allowed Kinder Morgan to construct, operate and maintain the Trans Mountain Pipeline (the Pipeline) through Coldwater Indian Reserve No. 1 (the Coldwater Reserve). The assignment, which was from one Kinder Morgan affiliate to another, arose as a result of a corporate restructuring in 2007 related to the sale of Kinder Morgan's natural gas and propane distribution assets to a

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