Authorities have been threatened with resistance if a court-ordered eviction proceeds this summer of a family with two infant children from their illegal camp on Dehcho Process withdrawn land, says a judge.
So, the NWT Supreme Court has granted RCMP permission to use reasonable force to carry out the GNWT-requested August 1st eviction, in a drama that started in January 2024, reads a NWT Supreme Court decision issued May 9.
Aiden Hoven has been living with his family in an ATCO trailer while working at an adjacent sawmill owned by Clinton Leussink,
The sawmill is on legally leased land at the remote site between Fort Simpson and Nahanni Butte known as Lindberg Landing, off the Liard Highway.
Lindberg Landing, between Fort Simpson and Nahanni Butte on the Liard River. (Photo courtesy of Google Maps).
Leussink sent emails to the court last month which suggest, “any order respecting (Hoven’s) removal will be resisted,” stated Justice Sheila MacPherson.
“Mr. Leussink indicated, ‘I eagerly wait the issuance of this warrant because there are many people willing to stand in front of their shack and prevent any attempt to kick them out onto the streets — or worse, the bushes.’”
There were already safety concerns in both reaching the remote location via rutted roads and the initial reception received by a Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) official, who would return later with an RCMP escort to serve legal notices.
The first contact between the GNWT and Hoven was on January 25, 2024, when the DECC manager observed unauthorized use of the land, stated the court decision.
A man identifying himself as Hoven told the official he was residing on the site and had been brought up to help run the sawmill operating on adjacent land.
“He also stated that he had a right to occupy the property as he and his family had nowhere else to go,” stated the judge.
“I accept the evidence of the (GNWT) that there are no records of any lease or other authorization that would support (Hoven’s) lawful use of the site.
“Indeed, the land in question is subject to a land withdrawal order in effect until April 1st, 2028 in order to facilitate the settlement of Aboriginal land and resources agreements in the Northwest Territories.”
Hoven failed to appear in court in February and in early May, so the GNWT sought the order to have the site vacated and cleaned of the ATCO trailer, doghouse, two car shelters, a sea can container and a shed.
The GNWT can later apply to the court to recover “reasonable costs” from Aiden incurred to clean the site.
The Dehcho Process Interim Land Withdrawals place temporary restrictions on new development in some areas while negotiations continue between Dehcho First Nations, the Government of Canada and the GNWT.
