WINNIPEG -- The seemingly never-ending saga over the Kapyong Barracks property could be heading towards legal limbo once again.
After a near decade-long court battle, Ottawa signed a deal in August to sell 110 acres of the former military base to a group of First Nations known as Treaty One.
Enter the Manitoba Metis Federation.
In late September, the MMF filed a federal court application against the Government of Canada to scrap the deal.
The application is asking the court for an order “setting aside or quashing the decision and any ancillary agreements."
The court document says the MMF has outstanding land claims and significant Crown land in Winnipeg is running out. It alleges the government failed to consult or negotiate in good faith with the MMF before signing an agreement on Kapyong.
"Canada made the decision and proceeded to sign the Kapyong agreement despite engaging in no crown consultation on the Kapyong lands with the MMF," it says.
If the court case proceeds it's unclear what this could mean for the development Treaty One is planning on site or the city's goal to widen Kenaston Boulevard.
Treaty One Chief Dennis Meeches says his group will seek intervenor status to join the court matter if necessary.
"There is a little bit of concern on you know potential fallout from their action and how they affect Treaty One," said Chief Meeches
Meeches also suggests the MMF’s actions came late in the game.
But the court application says the MMF began communicating with the government in 2015. The document alleges the government delayed meaningful discussions until the Kapyong deal was done with Treaty One, accusing the government of “failing to provide timely information to the negotiation process with the MMF in relation to the Kapyong lands."
The allegations have not been tested in court.
There is a chance this won’t end up in court. Lawyers for the MMF tell CTV News, that Ottawa and the MMF have asked for a six-month adjournment in order to talk before moving ahead with further litigation.
