Truck and shovel (Image: Iron Ore Co. of Canada)

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a jurisdictional appeal in the years-long effort by the Innu to sue Rio Tinto over its Iron Ore Company of Canada operations.

The appeal was launched by the government of Newfoundland and Labrador after Quebec’s highest court ruled that the suit could proceed in Quebec. The problem is that the mine in question lies in Labrador, not Quebec. Rio Tinto maintains offices in Montreal including the IOC head office.