The Manitoba government is facing a lawsuit over its attempt to ban smoking on native reserves.
The Brokenhead Ojibway Nation has filed a statement of claim in Court of Queen's Bench, arguing the province has no authority to force venues on reserves to go smoke-free.
The First Nation, north of Winnipeg, wants to set up a new video lottery facility with dozens of machines.
The government has said it will only license new facilities if they ban smoking.
Brokenhead Chief Deborah Chief says provincial laws, such as the smoking ban, cannot be applied to reserves because they fall under federal jurisdiction.
The government passed a smoking ban in 2004 that covered non-reserve establishments and has tried to convince on-reserve centres to abide by the same rules.
The band will be holding a news conference Tuesday morning to explain its position further.
