Law360 Canada ( June 24, 2021, 12:56 PM EDT) -- Appeal by the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) from the dismissal of its judicial review application of Manitoba’s order-in-council setting aside a term sheet between the MMF and Manitoba Hydro. The order authorized the issuance of a Directive which ordered that Hydro not proceed with the MMF/Hydro term sheet (MAP) at this time. MMF and Hydro finalized the MAP, an unsigned “DRAFT – For Discussion Purposes Only” point-form term sheet to address issues associated with a Transmission Project. The MAP had Hydro pay the MMF $67.5 million in return for the MMF agreeing not to file legal challenges to existing, identified or future Hydro projects. MMF, Hydro and Manitoba executed a MMF-Hydro-Manitoba-Turning-the-Page-Agreement (TPA) that required Hydro to pay $2 million to the MMF on closing. In return, MMF withdrew appeals from decisions to license two Hydro projects. The TPA also required Hydro to make annual payments to MMF during the term of the agreement for MMF to maintain a non-adversarial working relationship with Hydro and to participate in initial processes relating to unaddressed impacts of the two projects. In 2017, consistent with the processes agreed to in the TPA for reaching agreements, MMF and Hydro executed a memorandum of understanding that established a six-month discussion process to achieve an agreement to address issues associated with the Transmission Project. MMF was of the view that the unsigned MAP was a binding legal agreement. Manitoba and Hydro were not of the same view. The reviewing judge concluded that the Directive was a lawful and reasonable exercise of Cabinet’s statutory power to enforce its stewardship role over Hydro and that neither the Directive nor the decision engaged the honour of the Crown, and that MMF was not entitled to any special procedural rights regarding the issuance of the order. Alternatively, he found that, if the honour of the Crown was engaged, Manitoba acted honourably in the circumstances....