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EDMONTON — An Alberta First Nation that’s suing the province and federal government is asking a court to force them to pay all trial expenses up front to try to stop them from ragging the puck on the lawsuit.

“If the Crown has to contribute to funding the litigation, they’re going to want to find the most efficient and quickest way possible,” said Karey Brooks, lawyer for the Beaver Lake Cree, who live about 100 kilometres north of Edmonton near La La Biche.

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“Right now, the incentive is the other way.”

The First Nation has filed a request — known as an application for advance costs — for the two levels of government to front all of its legal costs.

Photo by Marc J Chalifoux Photography 2017

In 2008, the Beaver Lake Cree filed a lawsuit against Alberta and Ottawa alleging that so much development had been permitted on their land that it had rendered their right to traditional activities meaningless.

The band counted more than 19,000 development permits issued for the area, mostly for energy development, covering 90 per cent of its land. It alleges it has never been properly consulted on the developments or compensated for the damage they have caused.