A northern Ontario First Nations community, Kitchenuhmayboosib Innunuwug (yes, I'll call it KI too) has a land claim for territory it argues should have been accepted as its land under Treaty 9 over a century ago. We can assume the Crown will never settle and the courts might move toward some kind of resolution, maybe around the 23rd century.
Now Platinex, a junior mining company hoping to raise money on promises of a speculative platinum-mining venture on the disputed territory, is demanding the assistance of the courts. The Platinex investors, said their lawyer, are "up to their necks financially;" they are in extreme financial jeopardy. So the courts and crown must give them access to land that belongs to someone else. Oh yeah, Platinex is also suing the band for, get this, $10 billion.
Mining promoters get to stake claims on land where the title is known to be under dispute. The Crown issues them the permits, approves their disclosure documents that minimize the title issues, and fails to uphold Supreme Court of Canada requirements for Crown behaviour involving disputed territory.
When the First Nations owners assert their own interest, they get sued. Why do our courts take this stuff seriously? How do judges become willing agents for this kind of harassment?
