Lawyers representing the Government of Canada are asking a federal court judge to dismiss a lawsuit from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA).
The court is in Iqaluit this week to hear the case, where NTI and QIA are asking to quash a decision from then-Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan, to reissue fishing licences as part of the 2021 sale of Clearwater Foods to a coalition of seven Mi’kmaq First Nations, which bought 50 per cent of the company.
Nunavut’s Inuit organizations opposing the decision have argued the minister failed to consider provisions of the Nunavut Agreement, which says the federal government should recognize the importance of the adjacency principle and “give special consideration to these factors when allocating commercial fishing licences.”
On Tuesday, lawyers for the federal government argued Jordan did, in fact, give the requisite special consideration to the provisions of the Nunavut Agreement, arguing the decision was reasonable and procedurally fair.
Namely, the government argued NTI and QIA were owed, and given, meaningful opportunities to present their position, and did so in writing and during several face-to-face meetings.
The government provided the court with a memorandum from then-deputy minister Timothy Sargent, which outlined the background and legal considerations for Jordan to be taken into account in making her decision. In it, the memo outlined the government’s obligations under the Nunavut Agreement and previous case law where the adjacency principle has come up.
But the memo’s recommendations leaned on previous case law where the adjacency principle of the Nunavut Agreement was used to challenge quota allocations by the government, but was ultimately dismissed because of the impact on the existing licence holders.