Horse v. Thunderchild First Nation

Horse v. Thunderchild First Nation

The Court held that Thunderchild owed and had not discharged its FNFTA duties, that the Federal Court has jurisdiction to order compliance, that relief for the 2023–2024 fiscal year was within the scope of the application and would not prejudice the respondent, and that a permanent ongoing production order was unnecessary and inappropriate; instead the Court exercised its discretion to order staged timelines for disclosure and publication balancing accuracy and timeliness and awarded costs to the Applicants.

Citation
2025 FC 503
Parties
Applicants: Marlen Horse et al.; Respondent: Thunderchild First Nation
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
18 March 2025
Procedural Posture
Application Under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act / Judgment (federal Court, March 18, 2025)
Outcome
Application granted in part
Legal Topics
First Nations Financial Transparency Act Compliance, Publication of Financial Statements, Remedies and Costs, Judicial Scheduling and Deadlines
Source Language
English
Administrative Law Indigenous Law Statutory Interpretation Access to Information Civil Procedure First Nations Financial Transparency Act Compliance Publication of Financial Statements Remedies and Costs +1 more

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Parties

Marlen Horse et al.

Applicants

Thunderchild First Nation

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Application Under the First Nations Financial Transparency Act / Judgment (federal Court, March 18, 2025)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Thunderchild complied with sections 7 and 8 of the FNFTA
  2. 2 Appropriate time period for Thunderchild to comply with outstanding disclosure obligations
  3. 3 Whether relief can be ordered for the 2023–2024 fiscal year despite timing constraints

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that Thunderchild owed and had not discharged its FNFTA duties, that the Federal Court has jurisdiction to order compliance, that relief for the 2023–2024 fiscal year was within the scope of the application and would not prejudice the respondent, and that a permanent ongoing production order was unnecessary and inappropriate; instead the Court exercised its discretion to order staged timelines for disclosure and publication balancing accuracy and timeliness and awarded costs to the Applicants.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part

Orders

  • Respondent shall publish on its website, within 14 days of this Order, Financial Records disclosed to Applicants' counsel on December 19, 2024: Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for 2014–2015 prepared by MNP on November 5, 2015; Schedule of Remuneration and Expenses for 2013–2014; Schedule of Remuneration...
  • Respondent shall publish on its website, within 14 days of this Order, Financial Records disclosed to Applicants' counsel on February 20, 2025: Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for 2020–2021 prepared by MNP on February 19, 2025.