December court date for school board and Makivik

A hearing on the Kativik School Board’s request for an injunction against Makivik Corp.’s continued negotiations on self-government will be heard Dec. 1 to 12 in Montreal.

Last month KSB had requested a safeguard order against Makivik so that it could not reach an agreement-in-principle for a new form of government for Nunavik before the end of the year, but this request was denied.

A sworn statement of a negotiator saying she “did not anticipate” that an AIP under the framework agreement could be signed before spring 2004 was deposited. As a result, the court decided that a December hearing could proceed without any danger to the continued existence of the school board.

In a separate judgment, Makivik’s request to allow the federal and provincial government to become parties in the ongoing dispute between Nunavik’s birthright organization and school board was accepted.

In September, the KSB amended its case to challenge the framework agreement that was also signed by the two governments. As a result, the ruling said Canada and Quebec are necessary parties.

According to a news release, the KSB believes Makivik intends to move ahead with its self-government negotiations and reach an AIP before the December court date.

“The School Board has very serious concerns about the process bringing Nunavik towards a new form of government, a process in which signed agreements were cast aside and dissenting voices were ignored,” it says.

Makivik also issued two news releases condemning the “two years of expensive legal wrangling” over the self-government process in Nunavik.