Law360 Canada ( August 26, 2024, 11:25 AM EDT) -- Applications by Little Black Bear First Nation (Little Black Bear) and Star Blanket First Nation (Star Blanket), collectively Applicants, for judicial review of Decision of Specific Claims Tribunal (Tribunal) denying them First Nations beneficiary status. The decision of the Tribunal determined which First Nations were beneficiaries of Indian Reserve No. IR 80A (IR 80A). The reserve, whose Indigenous name was Kinookimaw, was created in 1889 by Order in Council PC 1151 (PC 1151) and was described simply as a "Fishing Station for the use of the Touchwood Hills and Qu'Appelle Valley Indians." The Tribunal’s decision turned on the proper interpretation of this phrase. The Tribunal concluded that of the 11 First Nations purporting to be beneficiaries, either as Indians of the Touchwood Hills or Qu'Appelle Valley, eight of the 11 were beneficiaries. The Applicants were among the First Nations who were denied beneficiary status. The primary issue in the applications was whether the court should set aside the Tribunal's decision in so far as it excluded Little Black Bear and Star Blanket from the class of beneficiaries....