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None of the allegations have been tested in court.

The provincial government did not make anyone available for an interview.

They are suing to get a remedy from the courts that they have not been able to get through negotiation

In an emailed statement, Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad described the lawsuit as “unfortunate,” and he said the government had negotiated development with all Treaty 8 First Nations, including Blueberry River.

Other northeastern B.C. First Nations covered by Treaty 8 have used the courts to slow down or stop the building of the Site C dam, requesting that environmental approvals or decisions be overturned because of inadequate consultation.

The Blueberry River lawsuit and previously filed cases related to Site C follow a string of court decisions that have redefined First Nations’ rights when it comes to development projects in their territories.

The most significant case was released by the Supreme Court of Canada last year, when the high court granted B.C.’s Tsilhqot’in people title to 1,750 square kilometres of land.

Gordon Christie, who specializes in aboriginal law at the University of British Columbia, said last year’s Supreme Court of Canada decision isn’t directly related to the current because, unlike the Blueberry River band, the Tsilhqot’in did not have an existing treaty. Most of B.C.’s First Nations bands never signed treaties with the government.

Still, Christie said the Tsilhqot’in decision could affect the Blueberry River case later on.

“These are things that will get argued, probably, if this gets into court,” said Christie, who directs the university’s indigenous legal studies program.

He said there had been “lots of litigation” since 2004 from First Nations aimed at getting them a greater say in development and resource decisions and policy.

Christie estimated there had been hundreds of cases, but he said most First Nations had limited resources for long legal struggles, making the courts “a very uneven playing field.”