This appeal concerned the denial of Indian status to Sharon Bocchini and her late mother, Bertha Isbister, descendants of St. Pierre Cook.
The Indian Registrar denied status based on Mr. Cook's historical receipt of "half-breed scrip" and withdrawal from treaty in the 1880s.
The court found that the Registrar erred in law by applying the wrong version of the Indian Act (1888 instead of 1886) to determine Mr. Cook's lawful withdrawal from treaty.
The court also found palpable and overriding errors of fact in the Registrar's conclusion that Mr. Cook lawfully received scrip, noting he was a minor (17 years old) at the time of application and sale, and that the Registrar failed to adequately consider evidence of widespread scrip fraud affecting the Sandy Bay Band.
The appeal was allowed, and the removal of Sharon Bocchini and Bertha Isbister from the Indian Register was reversed, with costs awarded to the appellant.
