Grand River Enterprises and four of its shareholders filed a C$3 billion ($2.3 billion) lawsuit claiming that Canada’s federal government is liable for “misfeasance, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of Aboriginal rights” for allegedly forcing them to take an excise license for operation in 1996 despite their tax-exempt status, reports the Hamilton Spectator.
The lawsuit also alleged that the government failed to control illegal trade on Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, resulting in financial losses due to an unfair playing field.
A recent Ontario Court of Appeal ruling rejected all but one of the federal government’s arguments to derail the lawsuit.