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

Hannah Spray · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 3:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Cumberland House Cree Nation says the provincial authorities is not protecting the Saskatchewan River system, and present it's clip to instrumentality the state to court.

Lawyers for the First Nation successful northeastern Saskatchewan filed a connection of assertion Tuesday successful Saskatoon Court of King's Bench, alleging the authorities has failed to uphold its pact obligations. It names the authorities of Saskatchewan arsenic the defendant.

For generations, the radical of Cumberland House Cree Nation person depended connected the Saskatchewan River delta, the largest freshwater stream delta successful North America, stretching 9,700 quadrate kilometres from northeast Saskatchewan into occidental Manitoba, the suit says.

But government-approved activities upstream — specified arsenic dams, irrigation and concern and municipality uses — person dramatically reduced the magnitude of h2o that reaches the delta, continually degrading the ecosystem, the suit says.

That has affected the quality of the radical determination to workout their pact rights to support their mode of life, Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer said astatine a Tuesday quality league successful Saskatoon.

"We consciousness that our manus is being forced to … determination guardant into the tribunal of instrumentality to question justice, and today's a precise important time successful the past of our community, our province, successful our country."

He and different assemblage members spoke astir however the delta has changed implicit their lifetimes: the h2o is nary longer harmless to drink, species of food person disappeared, moose are migrating elsewhere, birds are changing their migration patterns and muskrats are hard to find, they said.

"Back successful the day, it was healthy.… Nowadays it's scary," Chaboyer said.

Treaty rights

Treaty 5 covers an country of astir 260,000 quadrate kilometres successful parts of what are present Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It was signed successful 1875, with the ancestors of Cumberland House signing connected successful 1876.

The inhabitants agreed to stock their onshore with the newcomers successful speech for promises, including that Cumberland House would beryllium escaped to proceed to hunt, fish, trap and harvest successful the pact territory, the suit says.

"The treaties are what allowed the newcomers to travel and settee successful Saskatchewan, and the treaties were lone made due to the fact that of that committedness that Cumberland House Cree Nation could proceed to support its mode of life," Tim Dickson, the First Nation's lawyer, said astatine Tuesday's quality conference.

"That pact committedness is portion of the instauration of Canada and of Canadian law. It's protected by the Canadian Constitution and it's enforceable successful court."

WATCH | Massive Saskatchewan irrigation program threatens wildlife, opponents say:

The Saskatchewan River delta is the First Nation's homeland and "essential" to their civilization and identity, Dickson said.

When asked for comment, a Saskatchewan authorities spokesperson said the connection of assertion had not yet been served connected the province "and, therefore, we volition not beryllium commenting connected it."

Ongoing degradation

Activities upstream — including hydroelectric dams, h2o diversion and withdrawal of h2o for irrigation, concern uses and drinking h2o — person starved the delta of its captious sediment and polluted the water, Cumberland House is arguing successful its lawsuit.

The projected operation of the $1.15-billion Lake Diefenbaker irrigation megaproject, which the authorities has committed to opening this year, is besides seen arsenic "a precise superior threat," Dickson said.

Cumberland House has tried to prosecute with the state connected the project, but "there has been precise small engagement from the government," Dickson said.

Instead, residents person watched as, twelvemonth aft year, the delta degrades.

The nonaccomplishment of the delta would beryllium felt not conscionable by the radical who unrecorded there, but by everyone, said Cumberland House Cree Nation Coun. Beverly Goulet. 

At the extremity of Tuesday's quality conference, she responded to a question asked earlier by a writer astir however overmuch compensation the assemblage was seeking. 

"Instead of worrying astir money, due to the fact that we surely can't instrumentality it with america erstwhile we walk … retrieve the children," Goulet said.

"That's who we privation to protect, due to the fact that we've done capable harm to this planet. Like, what are they going to have? What person we done?

"So, let's each deliberation astir that."