Hartley Bay, B.C.- The  Gitga'at First Nation has launched a court challenge of the approval of the Northern Gateway project and is seeking a declaration of  Aboriginal title.

The challenge  comes in the wake of  the recent Supreme Court ruling  on the Tsilhqot’in  case which granted the Tsilhqot’in  Aboriginal title to 1700 square kilometers, and made it clear   Aboriginal  title means  the Tsilqhot’in  have the right to benefit from developments on their land.  The ruling also  says  developers must have consent from the  First Nation.

The Gitga’at  focus  is on three areas  of their traditional territory which they  say  were featured in the evidence they presented to the Joint Review Panel.

In a release issued today,  Michael Lee Ross, lawyer for the Gitga’at  says "The evidence amply suffices, legally speaking," he added, "to require the federal government finally to recognize and respect the Gitga'at people's prior and ancestral rights."

The  release  says  the “Gitga'at argue that the federal cabinet's approval and the regulatory process underpinning it unjustifiably infringe the Gitga'at First Nation's Aboriginal title and that the Gitga'at right to exclusive control means that the waters and routes of marine travel through the core of Gitga'at Territory are Gitga'at's to use, and it is for the Gitga'at to collectively decide what uses their lands, waters and resources can be put to.”

The Northern Gateway project  proposes to have oil tankers  using the Douglas channel,   the Gitga’at  say a major portion of that channel is  in the heart of their territory.