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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) Applications for funding under the Aboriginal Court
Challenges Program 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:
Glen Rutland
Justice
Tel: (867) 920-6418
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