Aboriginal Rights Court Challenges
GRANTS & CONTRIBUTION GUIDELINES
1. Purpose
This program provides funding to pay legal expenses for individuals and non-profit organizations seeking through the court process to protect or define Aboriginal or treaty rights of the Aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories.
2. Criteria for Selection of Cases
(1) The funding is available to individuals that reside, and non-profit organizations which operate, in the Northwest Territories.
(2) Cases must involve matters of law of substantial importance
and must have legal merit.
(3) The issue should have consequences for a number of residents
of the Northwest Territories.
(4) Priority will be given to the parties to the action,
although support may be given to interveners in exceptional
cases.
(5) Funding will not usually be provided if the same legal issue
is already before the courts.
(6) This program will not fund cases eligible for legal aid
funding from the Legal Services Board of the Northwest
Territories. Applicants will be expected to apply for funding
from the Federal Court Challenges program or the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, if available.
(7) Assistance may be provided for assessment, development of
the case and each stage of litigation for amounts up to the
following maximums:
a. Assessment and development of case $ 5,000
b. Trial $20,000
c. Appeal $20,000
d. Appeal to Supreme Court of Canada $20,000
(8) In exceptionally complex cases, funding may be authorized in amounts in excess of the maximums set out in subsection 2(7) above.
3. Process
(1) The application for funding under the Aboriginal Court Challenges Program can be in the form of a letter, and should include an explanation as to how the application fits into the funding criteria set out in the policy. A preliminary legal opinion from a lawyer is included with most applications.
Applications shall be submitted to:
Deputy Minister
The Department of Justice
Government of the Northwest Territories
6th Floor, Courthouse
Box 1320
Yellowknife NT X1A 2L9
(2) The Aboriginal Rights Court Challenges Committee shall
review all applications to determine whether they meet the
eligibility criteria for funding under the Program.
(3) No member of the Committee shall participate in a decision
relating to the funding of a case where he or she would be a
party, or where his or her employer, partner, business
associate, or immediate family member would be a party or
counsel, or in which he or she may benefit, directly or
indirectly, from the outcome.
(4) The Committee may ask an applicant to provide additional
information about its proposed litigation.
(5) The Committee may request a legal opinion from the Legal
Division in the Department of Justice or, in the case where the
Department of Justice has a potential conflict of interest, from
a private lawyer entitled to practice law in the Northwest
Territories. Where an opinion is sought from a private lawyer,
this will be funded under subsection 2(7)a.
(6) The Committee will make a recommendation to the Minister of
Justice as to the amount of funding, if any, which should be
provided in each case.
(7) The Minister of Justice will determine the amount of funding, if any, which is to be given to each applicant in each case, and his or her decision is final.
(8) There is no obligation on the part of the Minister of Justice to grant funding for any case or party, even though the application complies with the eligibility criteria and the Committee recommends its approval.
(9) Funding may be awarded to cover each stage of litigation as identified in subsection 2(7), except for an amount paid under subsection 3(5). Funding for each stage identified in subsections 2(7)a to d will not be provided without a legal opinion indicating there is a reasonable prospect of success.
(10) An approved grant will be paid to the lawyer(s) for the
applicant, in trust, on the conditions it be used only for the
legal case as identified, that a proper accounting of the money
be provided, that accounts be taxed when requested by the
Minister or his delegate, and such other conditions as may
reasonably be imposed to reflect these guidelines and the nature
of the particular legal case.
(11) Legal actions funded by this program are conducted
independently by the parties, without direction from, or
involvement by, the Minister or Department of Justice.
(12) The Minister of Justice is not obligated to continue with
further funding over and above the specific amount of a grant,
and is not obligated to pay any other costs or expenses incurred
by a grant recipient, whether or not the litigation is successful.
For more information, contact:
Communications
Justice
Tel: (867) 920-6418
This page last updated: October 2009
