The applicant, 2089322 Ontario Corporation, sought a determination of its rights under a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Luc DesRoches and Rezmart Gas and Tobacco.
The primary issues were the authenticity of a redacted version of the JVA (JVA2), which the respondent alleged was forged, and the enforceability of the JVA in light of section 28 of the Indian Act.
The court found JVA2 to be the authentic agreement, accepting the applicant's expert handwriting analysis and rejecting the respondent's forgery allegations.
Furthermore, the court declared that the JVA was not voided by section 28 of the Indian Act, as it merely contemplated a lease of reserve land rather than explicitly conferring a possessory interest to a non-band member.
