No Lawsuit Over N.B. Terminated Tax Agreements

Six Mi’gmaq First Nations in New Brunswick have dropped plans to sue the Higgs government over terminated tax agreements.

Instead, the province and the communities say they will work together on a new First Nation Development Agreement.

Both sides jointly presented the court with a consent order setting out clear timelines for negotiation and dialogue.

“We understand there is a great deal of work ahead of us, but we are committed to working collaboratively with First Nations leaders to achieve sustainable agreements that work for them and for the province,” Aboriginal Affairs Minister Arlene Dunn said in a news release.

In April, Premier Blaine Higgs announced the province was cancelling tax-sharing agreements with First Nations communities, calling them “unsustainable and unfair.”

The agreements allow First Nation communities to keep a percentage of the provincial tax revenues they collect on-reserve through the sale of tobacco, gasoline and other fuels.

Six Wolastoqey chiefs are suing the province in a separate court action involving the terminated tax agreements.

They have described the decision as a “crushing attack on the economic viability” of New Brunswick First Nations.