The appellant tribal council appealed a decision holding that the Energy Resources Conservation Board lacked jurisdiction to impose an affirmative action program for native employment as a condition of approving a tar sands project.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal, finding that the Board's statutory mandate was limited to the regulation of energy resources and did not extend to social welfare or affirmative action programs.
While not strictly necessary to decide, several justices noted that such an affirmative action program would not violate provincial human rights legislation.
