MEDIA RELEASE
May 28, 2025
Supreme Court of Canada to Hear Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation’s Appeal Relating to Overlapping Land Claims with Gitanyow
Case will set national precedent
HAZELTON, B.C. – On April 24, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation’s appeal of the British Columbia Court of Appeal’s (BCCA) decision to remove Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s own Aboriginal rights and title claims that had been added to a case, Malii, in which the Gitanyow Nation seeks to claim rights over an area in northwestern B.C. that overlaps with Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha territory. Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha maintains that Malii cannot appropriately move forward without their claims being taken into account, as the Nation has litigation moving separately through the courts asserting claim to its traditional territory which could be affected by the Malii outcome.
“Our ancestors have lived on and been stewards of the land in question for generations,” said Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation Chief Darlene Simpson. “It has become clear we must receive formal recognition of this fact in order to exercise our rights to effectively continue that stewardship.”
“We are pleased the Supreme Court of Canada agreed with Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha that it is a matter of national importance how overlapping title claims by distinct First Nations should be tried before the courts,” said Ryan Beaton, counsel for Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha. “Canada’s highest court typically accepts only five to 10 per cent of the cases brought before it. The decision of Canada’s highest court will provide helpful guidance to lower courts across the country as further overlapping claims enter litigation, especially in British Columbia where few Indigenous peoples have concluded treaty agreements with the Crown.”
The Malii trial was expected to begin in May 2025. In light of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to hear Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s appeal, the B.C. Supreme Court accepted Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s application to adjourn the Malii trial until after the national decision. The Supreme Court of Canada expects to hear Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s appeal in December 2025, with a decision delivered in 2026.
“Having the Supreme Court of Canada weigh in before the start of the Malii trial will greatly increase the efficiency of the litigation process,” said Beaton. “It may save years of appellate review on certain key issues, the results of which would carry the risk of needing a whole new trial in light of subsequent guidance by the higher courts.”
Background
In April 2024, the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation filed a claim with the B.C. Supreme Court for formal recognition of its Aboriginal rights and title over its traditional territory. A court date for this litigation has not yet been set.
In August 2024, the British Columbia Supreme Court accepted Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s application to be added to Malii as a defendant and allowed Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha to file its own Third Party Notice, which is its own Aboriginal rights and title claims for the area that overlaps with Gitanyow’s claims.
In December 2024, the BCCA upheld the addition of Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha as a defendant in Malii but removed its Third Party Notice from the Malii litigation, stating that Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s own claims should be brought in a separate proceeding. That decision to remove the Third Party Notice will now be reviewed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
On May 16, 2025, the British Columbia Supreme Court accepted Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s application for an adjournment of the Malii trial until after the Supreme Court of Canada releases its decisions on the appeals. At the same time at it hears Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha’s appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada will also hear an appeal from the Nisga’a Nation of a BCCA decision upholding the dismissal of the Nisga’a’s application to be added to the Malii case as a defendant. Part of the region in the Gitanyow claim is included in the area covered by the treaty between the Nisga’a, the Province of B.C., and Canada.
The Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation are descendants of the Laxwiiyip Tsetsaut, an independent self-governing people who occupied Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Territory at the time the British Crown asserted sovereignty in the region. For more information, visit TSKLHNation.ca.
Media Contact:
Karen McCluskey
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