Supreme Court of Canada Grants Leave to Appeal on Case Involving Environmental Assessments in Northern Quebec

On October 18, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal of a decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Attorney General of Quebec v. Grand Chief Dr. Ted Moses et al.

The case involves issues relating to the applicability of federal environmental impact assessment legislation in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Region of Quebec, where an environmental impact assessment process already exists under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA). The JBNQA is a treaty between the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, and the Cree and Inuit of Northern Quebec.

The Quebec Court of Appeal held that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (“CEAA”), could trigger an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on JBNQA territory. However, once triggered, the project was subject to the JBNQA EIA process and not the CEAA process.

The project in issue was the proposed Mackenzie Bay International vanadium mine at Lake Doré, in the vicinity of Chibougamou, Quebec. The case is tentatively scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in June, 2009.