1 total
Judicial review dismissed; reserve land allotment was a customary right of use, not possession.
The applicant, a member of the Pessamit Innu First Nation, sought a certificate of possession under section 20 of the Indian Act for a parcel of reserve land allotted to her by the band council in 2007.
Both the council and the Department of Indigenous Services refused the request.
The applicant brought an application for judicial review in the nature of mandamus.
The Federal Court dismissed the application, finding that the council had only intended to grant the applicant a right of use in accordance with its custom, not possession under the Indian Act, and thus the refusal to issue a certificate was correct.
