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A federal court judge has sided with First Nations who had resisted a new law intended to force disclosure of detailed band financial information.

The 24-page ruling was issued Friday by Federal Court of Canada Justice Robert Barnes. It orders the federal government to cease legal efforts to compel disclosure against a number of First Nations in Saskatchewan and other provinces.

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Wallace Fox, chief or “Okimaw” of the Onion Lake Cree Nation near Lloydminster, said he’s pleased with the decision.

“Our Nation does not believe that the legislation is valid – it violates our Peoples’ right of privacy,” Fox said in a written statement Sunday evening.

The First Nations Financial Transparency Act came into effect this year. Onion Lake and other bands said it violated both treaty and Aboriginal rights, as well as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.