Press Release
Dene Tha’ secures court injunction, alleges lack of consultation
Court order stops county use of bulldozer on winter roads to Bistcho and Thurston Lake
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2026 [EDMONTON] – An interim injunction order agreed to today by the Court of King’s Bench temporarily halts plans by Mackenzie County to use a bulldozer to open two legacy oil and gas winter access roads to Bistcho Lake and Thurston Lake. Dene Tha’ First Nation (DTFN) was not consulted before the Government of Alberta transferred control over portions of the Bistcho Lake winter road from oil and gas companies to Mackenzie County. The consent order precedes the hearing of a larger DTFN lawsuit, alleging the province illegally transferred sections of the Bistcho Lake winter road, located on Crown lands in a remote and largely dormant oil and gas field, to Mackenzie County for the purpose of creating public recreational access to Bistcho Lake. DTFN is asking the Court to reverse this transfer and stop future transfers of former oil and gas winter roads without consultation with DTFN.
Bistcho Lake is the ancestral home of DTFN. It has sustained the Nation’s way of life since time immemorial. Since the closure of the local gas plant, DTFN has largely maintained the Bistcho Lake winter road at its own expense so members can access Bistcho Lake #213 Reserve. Mackenzie County, with the support of the province, plans to use the ice roads to create public recreational road access to Bistcho Lake, Thurston Lake, Johnson Lake, and Esk Lake.
“We are relieved the Court agreed to this order,” said DTFN Chief Wilfred Hooka-Nooza. “Bistcho Lake is one of the last places where DTFN members can practice their way of life as promised by Treaty 8. Mackenzie County’s plan to transform the ice road to Bistcho Lake from primitive access in a largely abandoned oil and gas field into new public recreational access for outfitters and wealthy tourists to exploit Bistcho Lake, and others, will cause novel adverse affects to DTFN’s Treaty rights. The Government of Alberta had a duty to consult DTFN before this occurs, which, so far, it’s refusing to do,” said Hooka-Nooza.
On March 24, 2025, the Government of Alberta confirmed it transferred control over portions of the remote and rugged oil and gas winter access road to Bistcho Lake from various oil and gas companies to Mackenzie County without consulting DTFN.
“Mackenzie County’s plan for the ice roads will lead to a flood of tourists and other land users, putting pressure on endangered caribou and other species relied on by DTFN harvesters. It will also open the area to trespassing on DTFN’s sacred and archeological sites, disrupt DTFN’s animal monitoring program, and facilitate illegal poaching. It is disappointing the Government of Alberta thought it could trample on DTFN’s rights without consultation,” said Hooka-Nooza.
CONTACT
Chief Wilfred Hooka-Nooza – 780 502 2994 / wilfred.hooka-nooza@denetha.ca
Philippe Johnson, Legal Counsel (TLE Law) – 780 686 6262 / pjohnson@tlellp.ca
BACKGROUND
Dene Tha’ First Nation
Dene Tha’ First Nation represents approximately 3,350 members. It consists mainly of three separate communities located in Northwestern Alberta – Bushe River, Meander River and Chateh (formerly known as Assumption). Around 1160 members live off reserve.
Bistcho Lake
Bistcho Lake is the third largest lake in Alberta. It is situated approximately 150 kilometres northwest of High Level, AB and 20 kilometres south of the Northwest Territories Border. Bistcho Lake supports many animals, including endangered caribou. It is also the site of two DTFN reserves (including Bistcho Lake #213 and Jackfish Point #214), historic villages, trails, seasonal camps, hunting grounds, fishing
places, burial sites and other sacred places. In summer, Bistcho Lake is accessible by float plane, and in winter by a historic oil and gas winter access road relied on by DTFN to reach its reserves on Bistcho Lake.
For years, DTFN worked with various oil and gas companies to ensure its members’ access to Bistcho Lake Reserve #213 along the historic Bistcho Lake oil and gas winter road. Since the closure of a nearby gas plant many years ago, DTFN has largely maintained the winter road at its own expense. If Mackenzie County gains control over the winter road, it will dictate when the road opens and closes, impacting DTFN’s ability to reach its reserve.
The entire shoreline of Bistcho Lake is protected as a Historic Resources Management Area under Alberta’s Historical Resources Act. Under DTFN’s own initiative, 75 archaeological sites have been identified, including pre-contact sites, historic settlements, cabins and trails, complementing and corroborating DTFN’s oral history, with many other sites remaining to be officially documented.
The Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate
The Government of Alberta has a constitutional duty, flowing from s.35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982 to consult and accommodate DTFN whenever it contemplates a decision or conduct that has the potential to impact DTFN’s Treaty and Aboriginal rights. It is part of a process of fair dealings and reconciliation that flows from the Crown’s duty to act honourably toward Indigenous people. This duty derives from the Crown’s assertion of sovereignty over lands that were occupied by Indigenous peoples at the time.
The duty to consult principle is designed to identify potential harms to Aboriginal and Treaty rights and, through consultation and negotiation, reach such accommodation as is possible to prevent the harm, in the spirit of reconciliation. The duty to accommodate may require changes to government plans or policy. Where Treaty or Aboriginal rights have been infringed by a project (such as a winter road) in the past, the duty to consult will be triggered where a present-day government decision concerning the existing project has the potential to cause a novel adverse impact to Aboriginal and Treaty rights.
