Lawsuit accuses province of failing to protect Saskatchewan River delta, violating treaty obligations [Video]

Cumberland House Cree Nation says the provincial government is not protecting the Saskatchewan River system, and now it’s time to take the province to court.

Lawyers for the First Nation in northeastern Saskatchewan filed a statement of claim Tuesday in Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench, alleging the government has failed to uphold its treaty obligations. It names the government of Saskatchewan as the defendant.

For generations, the people of Cumberland House Cree Nation have depended on the Saskatchewan River delta, the largest freshwater river delta in North America, stretching 9,700 square kilometres from northeast Saskatchewan into western Manitoba, the lawsuit says.

But government-approved activities upstream — such as dams, irrigation and industrial and urban uses — have dramatically reduced the amount of water that reaches the delta, continually degrading the ecosystem, the lawsuit says.